Daily Devotional – ‘In His Footstep’
By Kingdom Support Initiatives (KSi)
March 8th 2024

The Persistent Faith

Blessed [happy, spiritually prosperous, favored by God] is the man who is steadfast under trial and perseveres when tempted; for when he has passed the test and been approved, he will receive the [victor’s] crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (James 1:12, AMP)

Bible Reading: Mark 7:24-29

Our Bible reading today may be familiar to many Christians. I have listened to many sermons on this scripture about the persistent faith. The story is about a Gentile woman who came to Jesus for deliverance for her daughter. However, due to her place of birth (born in Syrian Phoenica), she was not a Jew, hence Jesus told her that “First I should feed the children– my own, family, the Jews. It isn’t right to take food from the children and throw it to dogs.” Instead of taking offense in Jesus’ response (because it was rude in a way), she replied with a deeper revelation that impressed Jesus, “That’s true, Lord, but even the dogs under the table are allowed to eat the scraps from the children’s plates.” Jesus replied, “Good answer”. The woman received an answer to her request, her daughter was delivered. Here are some lessons: first, the persistent faith looks to Jesus because He is the author and the finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). No matter the trial, such faith focuses on Jesus (James 1:12). Secondly, the persistent faith asks until it receives from God. Daniel displays exactly this when he prayed and tarried for 21 days until the answer to his prayer came (Daniel 10:13-21). Such faith does not get tired, weary or discouraged, rather, it is focused and consistent (John 16:24). Thirdly, such faith does not get offended or annoyed because the request has not been answered. Finally, such faith asks from revelation of God’s word (Ephesians 1:17-18). Dear friends, I encourage you to study this story again and learn from this Gentile woman who followed Jesus and received her miracles despite the odds.

Action Point: If you have given up on because you prayed but no response yet, I encourage you to return to God and pray about it.

Daily Confession: I receive grace to pray through in Jesus’ name.

Intercessory prayer: I pray for renewal of faith and hope for anyone who may have given up on life and on faith.

Hymn: Oh, how praying rests the weary!

Prayer will change the night to day.

So, when life gets dark and dreary,

Don’t forget to pray

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