24 And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have no man know it : hut he could not be hid.
25 For a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spir- it, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet :
26 The woman was a Greek, a Sy- rophenician by nation ; and she be- sought him that he would cast forth the devil out of her daughter.
27 But Jesus said unto her? Let the children first be filled : for it is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it unto the dogs.
28 And she answered and said unto him, Yes, Lord : yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs.
29 And he said unto her, For this saying go thy way ; the devil is gone out or thy daughter.
30 Anil whin she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter laid upon the bed.
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We know nothing of the woman who is here mentioned, beyond the facts that we here read. Her name, her former history, the way in which she was led to seek our Lord, though a Gentile, and dwelling in the borders of Tyre and Sidon — all these things are hidden from us. Bat the few facts that are related about this woman are full of precious instruction. Let us observe them, and learn wisdom.
In the first place, this passage is meant to encourage us to pray for others. The woman who came to our Lord, in the history now before us, must doubtless have been in deep affliction. She saw a beloved child possessed by an unclean spirit. She saw her in a condition in which, no teaching could reach the mind, and no medicine could heal the body — a condition only one* degree better than death itself. She hears of Jesus, and beseeches Him to " cast forth the devil out of her daughter/' She prays for one who could not pray for herself, and never rests till her prayer is granted. By prayer she obtains "the cure which no human means could obtain. Through the prayer of the mother, the daughter is healed. On her own behalf that daughter did not speak a word ; but her mother spoke for her to the Lord, and did not speak in vain. Hopeless and desperate as her case appeared, she had a praying mother, and where there is a praying mother there is always hope.
The truth here taught is one of deep importance. The case here recorded is one that does not stand alone. Few duties are so strongly recommended by Scriptural example, as the duty of intercessory prayer. There is a long catalogue of instances in Scripture, which show the