Find the Spiritual Anchor for Your Petitions
Look to me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else. — Isaiah 45:22
But she answered him, "Yes, Lord. Yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." — Mark 7:28
Author
Dr. Roberto Miranda
Summary: In every challenge, let us seek a spiritual anchor: a specific declaration from God on which to base our petitions and face the battle. It may be found in Scripture, in a promise received in the heart, or in a prophetic word. Knowing the Bible well helps us recognize the word that speaks to our situation. When God brings it to life in our spirit, let us meditate on it, pray in keeping with its message, and allow it to permeate our inner being. The Syrophoenician woman showed this faith when she answered Jesus using the very image he had used; her specific response opened the way for her daughter’s deliverance.
On the journey of faith, there are times when believers must seek what I call the spiritual axis, the scriptural foothold on which they can plant themselves before undertaking the battle ahead. It may be a passage from the word of God; it may be a promise God has whispered to our hearts; it may be a prophetic word we have received. In any case, as we have said before concerning prayer, it is important for believers to seek and discover God’s specific declaration for whatever battle they must fight, and to learn to “stand” on what God has said concerning their particular situation.
That is why it is so important for you to learn the Word of God well, so that when you face a challenge in life, or take on a struggle, a journey, a spiritual adventure, you can find the specific word in the Bible that speaks to the personal drama you are experiencing. And when God gives that rhema word to your spirit, receive it and make it your banner. Make it the rallying cry of your battle. Meditate on it constantly; present your petitions in terms of its content; saturate your spirit with the images that flow from it; repeat it again and again until your spirit has soaked up its message and drawn out all the spiritual nourishment it contains.
At times God has spoken to me this way. While I have been reading the Bible, a particular passage has seemed to stand out within me and has taken on three dimensions in my spirit. And God has said to me: “That is the passage I want you to use to release and channel the power of my Spirit on this specific journey you have undertaken.”
The Syrophoenician woman approached Jesus with a desperate request. Her daughter was gravely afflicted by an unclean spirit. Could he free her from her affliction? To test her, the Lord answered with a disheartening and even mildly insulting word: her ethnicity disqualified her. It was not right to give the children’s food (the Jews’) to the little dogs (Gentiles like her and her daughter). “Yes, Lord,” she answered humbly. “But even the little dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Struck by such a shrewd, specific, and faith-filled response, the Lord said to her: “Because of this word, go; the demon has left your daughter.” The woman found the specific word that released Jesus’ healing power! She “stood” on that answer and restated her case using the very image the Lord had used to reject her. The Master had no choice but to reward the compelling spiritual argument she put before him with an affirmative answer.