“Now Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now for three days and have nothing to eat; and I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way” (Matthew 15:32).

Our Lord is filled with compassion.  Are you?  The world moves on, often uncaring, but our Lord asks us to become compassionate as He is compassionate.  Too many are uncaring of others, but our Lord has commanded that we love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Seek the path of compassion and mercy, learning to love others as our Lord loves you.  He will fill you with all that is needed.

Lord, You know that I have my own ideas about things.  Take me from the place of judging others to the place where I am willing to meet them where they are.  Guide me in Your goodness so that I learn how to be compassionate.  You know all that is needed.  Lead me in the way of salvation so that I see in others the hope those who have shared the faith with me saw when they looked at me.

Come Holy Spirit and minister through me in order that I may reach out to others.  Keep me from the things that would hinder me from being compassionate and merciful.  Take away that which would cause me to judge another, but in the patience You give, help me kindly meet people where they are.  Thank You for leading me on this journey.  Work on my heart so I become one who is willing to follow Your lead.  Amen. 

“So the crowd was astonished as they saw those who were unable to speak talking, those with impaired limbs restored, those who were limping walking around, and those who were blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel” (Matthew 15:31).

Our lord heals.  In this world, it is not for the length of life but for the age to come. It is the supernatural healing which gives life eternal.  We may be plagued in this age with infirmities, but they are temporary.  Why some are healed and not others we can only speculate.  Experience the true healing which comes by grace and through faith.  Our Lord is showing us that all power belongs to Him and that He, who created all things, is able to accomplish what He promises.

Lord, I am fascinated when I hear of a miraculous healing; but let me not stop with that.  You physically heal whom You heal.  Help me to not look at circumstance, but to You who see all things.  Yes, I love healing but guide me to focus on the real healing You have given me in this life You give which springs to eternal life. Keep me from being conditional in my faith but instead learn to trust You in and through all things.

Guide me, Lord Jesus, in the way of everlasting life.  Help me to bring the healing You have given me to others that they too may be healed of the sickness of sin.  You know every circumstance and You know what is needed.  Lead me today, Lord, so that I obey all that the Holy Spirit will direct.  In Your goodness, help me to know that You are the One who will bring healing to all who believe.  Amen.

“Departing from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee, and after going up on the mountain, He was sitting there.  And large crowds came to Him bringing with them those who were limping, had impaired limbs, were blind, or were unable to speak, and many others, and they laid them down at His feet; and He healed them” (Matthew 15:29-30).

Jesus heals.  First, He heals us of the deadly disease of sin.  Then He heals us of the unrighteous way of life.  He is our healer.  Anything else He does is for the good of us all.  We are led to the place where we learn to trust the Lord above all things.  Be guided by the goodness and mercy of our Savior.  Believe in the truth that all things exist because of Him and through Him.  Do not go your own way, but in the narrow way of the Lord.

Lord, You know the state of my heart.  I have come thus far, but You know how much farther I will need to go in this life.  Lead me in Your goodness and mercy to walk with You all the days of my life.  Guide me so that I continue to grow in Your likeness.  Help me Lord, as I come to those places which are difficult, to know that this serves a purpose in my walk of faith.

Lord Jesus, Great Physician, You have healed many of the diseases and disorders caused by a sin-sick heart.  You have given me healing.  With that healing, lead me so that I do not fall back into the life that made me sick.  Keep me in Your goodness on the narrow road, always walking with You leading the way.  Guide me to take seriously the call You have placed before me and walk in Your ways all the days of my life.  Amen.

“And she said, “Yes, Lord; but please help, for even the dogs feed on the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”  Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed at once” (Matthew 15:27-28).

Jesus loves a response of faith.  She was persistent, but not insistent.  Knowing that our Lord can do anything does not mean that we should expect Him to do what we ask.  But, knowing that we can ask in faith, we should be bold and realize that our Lord will always do what is just.  Jesus told us to ask in faith for anything in His name knowing that the Lord will hear and answer every prayer.

Lord, teach me to live the kind of faith that is bold, but humble.  Help me to understand the difference between persistence and insistence.  Lord, encourage me to be content with the crumbs from the table, and not demand the best portion.  Guide me to know that being a part of Your kingdom is already the best part.  In all things, keep me looking to You as the source of all things so that I may grow in the likeness of Christ my Savior.

Lord Jesus, what an incredible story this is.  May I learn that I too am an “outsider” whom You have redeemed.  Only by Your grace can I come into Your presence.  Lead me in the way You know I need to go.  Guide me in Your goodness and mercy to live into the life of faith that You have given me.  Help me to be persistent in faith but never demand that my way be done.  Through all things, show me the way of eternal life.  Amen.

“But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”  Yet He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (Matthew 15:25-26).

Our Lord knows everything.  He is not being rude, but He knows what it will take to get her to come out of herself and live by faith.  Sometimes He will do that with us.  He is always gracious and always kind.  What our Lord does for us is to call us out of ourselves and into faith.  The Lord is serious about making us into children of God.  He will do what it takes to lead us in the way of truth.

Lord, I often do not like it when You do something that challenges me.  Help me to move beyond myself and get to the place where I willingly do as You command.  Unlike the world, You are trustworthy.  You will lead me in the way I need to go.  I may not like it at first, but it will be what is needed.  Guide me always that I may live in the hope You give me through faith in You.

Holy Spirit, when I am resisting, help me to see that I am seeking my will above Your will.  Where I am offended, help me to understand the difference between my own indignation and the place where, when offended by others, tolerance is called for.  In all things, teach me to be gracious and kind, seeking what is right no matter how I feel about any situation.  Lead me to live a life of righteousness.  Amen.

“But He did not answer her with even a word. And His disciples came up and urged Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us!”  But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:23-24).

There are people who annoy us.  But sometimes, even though annoying, they are the ones the Lord knows we must minister to or be ministered by.  Do not just look on the outside, but to the inside to see another brother or sister when they come to you.  Jesus came for the lost sheep.  The name Israel means “God prevails.”  All who know the Lord God who prevails are amongst the sheep.  Jesus has come for all who will believe. 

Father in heaven, it is not that You are tricky or not completely revealing to us the truth, but that our hearts are often selfish and thinking only in terms of our group.  You love us all and those who come to You in faith remain amongst the lost, no matter their earthly heritage.  Lead me out of the exclusive thinking that happens in this age to see that there are from around the world those whom You have called to come through faith to You.

Lord Jesus, You have called me to walk in the goodness of the Father’s mercy to be conformed to Your image.  Guide me this day to live into the hope and promise that You give me by grace.  Others may come, even insistently, so help me to receive all who come in faith and minister to others as You have ministered to me.  Lead me in the upward call You have set before me to love others as You love me.  Amen.

“Jesus went away from there, and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon.  And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely demon-possessed” (Matthew 15:21-22).

From all over the world, there are those who are spiritually awake.  She was a gentile, but she knew that it was demons who controlled her daughter.  In our day, so many are asleep that they have no clue that the demons are still pestering.  Faith is a gift that God gives. He is no respecter of persons and gives faith to whom He will.  Only the arrogant think themselves special.

Almighty Father, I do recognize the arrogance in myself and  others of thinking that we are special.  You sent Your Son for the whole world.  From the inside, strip away all arrogance that I might learn to rejoice when I encounter another with faith and pray for those without faith.  Grant fortitude to stand firm in the truth You have revealed so that I may live into the life to which You have called me.

Lord Jesus, You know my heart.  You know the desire of my heart that is buried under all of the garbage of this world.  Teach me to live according to Your goodness and mercy so that I may humbly walk where You lead, loving all others as I meet them, and see the world with a pure heart.  Guide me, Lord, in the way You know I need to go and grant that I would have a renewed heart to follow where You lead.  Amen.

“But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and those things defile the person.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, acts of adultery, other immoral sexual acts, thefts, false testimonies, and slanderous statements.  These are the things that defile the person; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the person” (Matthew 15:18-20).

What people see on the outside does not reveal what is on the inside.  Jesus, who knows our heart, knows the corrupt thoughts we have. He has come to kill the old Adam and raise us to new lives where what we say and who we are can be the same thing.  The Lord will remove the evil in us so that we can love our neighbor – all of them – equally and wholly.  He has come to make us holy even as He is holy.

Lord, there are many thoughts that cross my mind about other people.  Lead me away from the selfish thoughts in my mind so that I live free of the bondage of hatred and self-serving.  Many will look to their ceremonies and services as a means of cleansing the outside and appearance, but You desire for us to be clean from the inside out.  Let me not fall off the path of cleansing upon which You have set me.

Lord Jesus, You know these things and they are true of us all.  Grant humility so that I stop the pretense that goes on every day.  Lead me in the goodness of Your mercy to work on the inner thoughts that only You know about.  Help me clean them up so that I live into a life that is like Yours.  Continuously bring me to the place where I learn to love others as You love me.  Amen.

“Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.”  Jesus said, “Are you also still lacking in understanding?  Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and is eliminated?” (Matthew 15:15-16)

The things of this world may have been corrupted by sin, but they shall pass away.  What you eat may be of use for a little while, but it shall pass.  Do not be caught up in the way of the world but live in the truth of eternity.  Looking to the Lord for all things – literally all things – is the goal of what seeing the truth shows you.  Look beyond the momentary things that hinder you to see that in the Lord there is eternal life.

St .Paul said it: “to live is You and to die is gain.”  It is not that I do not live my daily life, but that I should not worry about my place in this world.  You have come to lead me through the shadows of this age to come into the true light, which is You.  Guide me, Lord Jesus, to humbly walk in the words of eternal life that You have given me.  Help me to see the passing things of this age and to let these temporary things go.

Come, Holy Spirit, and minister to my heart.  You know where there are needless things to which I am clinging.  You know where I am hindered and do not walk by the faith You have given me.  Teach me to live humbly in the truth of Your presence.  Guide me in the way where I will become more like Christ.  Lift me out of the pit of darkness to stand in the light of truth.  Help me to live into the promise You have given me.  Amen.

“Leave them alone; they are blind guides of blind people. And if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit” (Matthew 15:14).

The one who has been given sight should look and truly see.  The Lord has come that we may have sight, for in Him, there is light and life.  He is the Light and He gives life.  But there are those who think they know better.  In their arrogance they speak words that entice the people of this age away from the truth.  Do not be led astray by smooth words.  Hear and understand the word of the Lord and live into the life He gives through faith.

Lord, I have heard many words that tickle my fancy.  Your word is forever, for You have spoken the words of eternal life.  Lead me away from the blind guides in this world, to hearing You where Your word is spoken, in order that I may grow ever more deeply in the truth You have revealed.  Let me see, if only a few steps at a time, the path You have set before me so that I may not fall into the pit.

Lord Jesus, so many complain against the truths You have spoken.  Humble me so that I see more clearly those places where I rebel against You.  Guide me to hope in You alone.  Lead me to follow where You go so that I may be conformed to You.  Through all that comes in this life let me neither listen to, nor be, a blind guide, but one whose hope is always in the truth that You alone save.  Amen.