Manchester Lutheran Church

When God is silent—what then?

When I was 8, a boy said to me in the school playground: I’m going to pray the school floods tomorrow. If it doesn’t—that proves there isn’t a God.

Last week I met an atheist in central Manchester who works at Manchester University, he said: The fact that people pray to heal their cancer, and yet they still die—proves God doesn’t exist.

We’re in the season of Lent, a time when we focus on repentance and God’s grace. And maybe you’re particularly aware you’ve been praying for something, but haven’t received it. And you think: Does that mean God’s not there? Does that mean God doesn’t care about you?

In Matthew’s Gospel we are in between two big speeches by Jesus. The last speech in chapter 13 was full of parables about Jesus’ kingdom.

And in the rest of chapter 15, leading up to our passage, Jesus has shown the Pharisees that having a pure, outwardly religious life does not make people part of his kingdom, what matters is what’s on the inside.

So, the reader is probably thinking: On what basis does Jesus answer prayer? Which isn’t far from the issue my atheist friend had last week: What about when God is silent—what then?

In our passage, we’re going to see an answer with three parts:
1) Faith has a foundation
2) Faith persists when tested
3) Jesus is good to everyone who trusts him

First, Faith has a foundation

Please look again at vv. 21-22:

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.”

Matthew is careful to show us with these details that this woman has not just decided to come to Jesus and demand something randomly from him.

The reader of Matthew’s Gospel would know that back in chapter 4:24 we were told this about Jesus:

So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons,

Tyre and Sidon are in Syria. So, this woman already knows that Jesus casts out demons for people he meets. And, she calls him “Lord, Son of David”. Which is Matthew’s way of telling us she has heard Old Testament promises about him.

Matthew opened his Gospel showing that Jesus was descended from David. And what she says is almost identical to what two blind Jewish men said to Jesus back in chapter 9, verse 27:

And as Jesus passed on from there, two blind men followed him, crying aloud, “Have mercy on us, Son of David.”

So, this woman doesn’t just have some kind of abstract “faith”. She has concrete foundation to believe Jesus will cast out the demon from her daughter.

True faith has a foundation.

And this is one reason many people experience what seems to be God’s silence when they pray. A little later in Matthew, in chapter 17:20, Jesus will say these famous words:

For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

But people misunderstand this promise of Jesus, because they misunderstand what faith is.

Faith is confidence, assurance, in God’s good Word to you. Faith isn’t just believing hard enough—it is trusting in what God has actually promised in his Word.

Just believing something will happen is not faith. Faith is trust in something. Faith has a foundation.

There are plenty of crazy people who “believe” things. That doesn’t mean God will make them happen. And while God does promise to work all things for the good of those who love him, that doesn’t mean everything you ask for is for your good.

To pray in faith means to ask God for something he has promised you—because if God has promised you something, you can be utterly assured he will give it to you.

But, too often, we come to God with demands that are not founded in faith, falsely expecting that we can twist his arm to deliver what we want.

Secondly, Faith persists when tested.

Take a look at v. 23:

But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.”

At first, Jesus deliberately ignores the woman’s request. He is testing her faith, deliberately forcing her to persist in her faith. Even to the point where the disciples are just annoyed, and asking Jesus to send her away.

But, Jesus steps up his seeming rejection in v. 24:

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

While Jesus did come for all people, the initial focus of his mission was the Jewish people.

That’s why, back in chapter 10 verses 5-6, when he sent his apostles out, he said this:

These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

But, in v. 25, the woman persists and pushes Jesus:

But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

But, Jesus response is incredible—rude even, v. 26:

And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

Yet, even in the face of this, the woman doesn’t give up, but actually catches Jesus in his own words, v. 27:

She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

Why is Jesus behaving this way? Well, he is testing the woman’s faith. Forcing her into a situation where her experience challenges her trust in God’s words.

Luther puts it like this in his sermon on this story:

But see in this example how Christ like a hunter exercises and chases faith in his followers in order that it may become strong and firm.

And we’re told the reason why Jesus tests the faith of his followers in James 1:2-4:

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Faith persists when tested. And Jesus tests the woman’s faith to make it persistent. This is the way God has always worked, Proverbs 17:3:

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, and the LORD tests hearts.

By nature, all of us want to rely on ourselves, and so God trains his people to stop trusting ourselves, and instead to trust him. He did this with Abraham, by telling him to sacrifice his son Isaac.

He did this with Paul in 1 Corinthians 1:8-9:

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.

Our faith should be founded on God’s promises: if I ask him for something—has he promised it?

But, even when I ask for something God has promised: Who am I trusting? Because God tests you to train you to trust him. and persist in trusting him.

How often do we give up when God is silent? If God doesn’t answer in our way, in our time, our agenda, we just assume he must not care? How quickly do we grow bitter, treating God like a broken vending machine?

We say we trust God, but when he tests our faith, we crumble. We treat prayer like a child throwing a tantrum: if God doesn’t give us what we demand, we take our faith and go home.

This the heart of sin—the belief that God is bad—and we jump at any excuse to prove that to ourselves.

Look at the woman in this story: She’s not Jewish, she was raised in a different religion. But, she trusts in the word she’s heard about Jesus, and persists in that trust.

God is not a tool to be used to get what I want. He is a deity to be trusted.

So Faith has a foundation and persists when tested

But… Jesus is good to everyone who trusts him

Jesus mission was first to the Jews, and so he seems rude to the woman. But… it was no accident he met her. Look again at v. 21:

Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

Jesus deliberately went to Syria… …this woman didn’t happen upon Jesus by accident, …he intentionally came to her area. So, while he tests her faith to train her, we shouldn’t misunderstand that as not caring about her.

We see in v. 28 that this whole interaction has not been about rejection, but about strengthening and revealing this woman’s faith:

Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly.

Yes, Jesus tested this woman’s faith, yes, he was initially silent, then dismissive, yes, he then even seemed to push her away.

But, we see here his intention the whole time, was to improve her faith, to reveal her faith, and then to commend her and celebrate her faith. Because Jesus is delighted with people who trust him. He is good to people who trust him.

Paul gives us this assurance in Romans 8:28:

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Even though Jesus’ mission was first to Israel, he deliberately crosses borders to meet outsiders.

On the cross Jesus will go even further—suffering in the most brutal way, facing God’s wrath and anger, and dying not just for Israel, but for absolutely everyone.

He came to break the barriers of sin, to seek those who were far off, and to bring them into his kingdom.

Jesus’ silence to this woman was not indifference. His testing was not cruelty. He was deliberately refining this woman’s faith so that it would shine and she would be publicly honoured. At the end, Jesus doesn’t just grant her request—he publicly praises her faith.

The same Jesus who tests us is the one who suffered for us. He faced a genuine and awful silence on the cross, crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” so that we would never have to face the silence of God abandoning us.

He chose to be treated as an outsider, facing God’s wrath and punishment for sin, so you would never be treated like that, but instead would be his child, with a right to sit at God’s table and eat the best food with him forever.

This woman sits at that table now, having been nurtured by Christ so that her faith persisted. You don’t need to beg for crumbs—you are invited to the feast. Jesus is merciful to you. Jesus is kind to you. Jesus wants the best for you.

Sometimes God seems silent, indifferent, maybe even rude. We don’t know all the answers. We don’t know the details of what he’s doing in every moment.

But, be absolutely assured of this: he is on your side, he is for you, not against you, he is working all things for your good, even if we don’t understand what good means.

So, When God is silent—what then?

Well…

1) Faith has a foundation—we don’t invent things to trust in, but trust in the specific promises God makes to us.

2) Faith persists when tested—we don’t give up, but keep trusting and keep praying, knowing that Jesus trains us to keep trusting him.

3) Jesus is good to everyone who trusts him—Jesus wants your faith to succeed, he wants to be good to you, he’s on your side, even if you don’t always know the details, he is working all things for your good.

And so… keep trusting Jesus, and keep praying. Don’t give up. Keep trusting and praying that God will give you the amazing things he’s promised.

Look to his promises, trust them, and ask God for them persistently. Here’s just some of those specific promises:

God promises to forgive you, 1 John 1:9:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins

God promises to give you strength in trials, Isaiah 41:10:

fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

God promises to give you wisdom, James 1:5:

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Jesus promises to be with you, Matthew 28:20:

“I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

God promises to give you peace in face of worries, Philippians 4:6-7:

in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

God promises to guide you, Psalm 32:8:

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

God promises to provide for you, Philippians 4:19:

my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches

God promises to change your character to make you more like Christ, 2 Corinthians 3:18:

we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.

Trust these promises, pray for them, be persistent, and even though God may seem silent for a time, be assured that Jesus has good purposes for you to draw you closer to him, so that he can say:

Great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.