Sometimes it’s the simplest of words from the most unlikely of people that make a big impact.

In Matthew 15, we see the story of a Canaanite woman crying out to Jesus for help. Canaanites were the ones who had notoriously been enemies of the Jews since the days of Abraham. 

“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David,” she cries out.

The ironic thing is that just before this, some of the important religious leaders from Jerusalem had come to meet Jesus. They were scholars who knew the Old Testament and its prophecies very well. But rather than seeing Jesus for who He was, they criticized Him for not following the strict Jewish customs of the day. 

Now here is a Gentile Canaanite woman, someone who is not in the chosen Jewish line, and she is not only calling Jesus Lord, but also somehow recognizing Him as “Son of David,” the prophesied Messiah.

At first, Jesus doesn’t answer the woman. He explains to his disciples that he has been sent only for the lost sheep of Israel. His mission at the time did not include ministering to the Gentile people. But this woman is persistent. She kneels before Him with three words: “Lord, help me.”

These words may be simple, but they speak volumes. This woman addresses Jesus as Lord, recognizing Him as master, ruler, the one who has all power and authority. She is lowering herself to a place of humility before Him, acknowledging her powerlessness, and her total trust in Jesus’s ability to provide what she needs, healing for her daughter who is overcome by a demon. 

“Lord, help me.”

Charles Spurgeon has insight about this short three-word prayer, He says, “I commend this prayer to you because it is a handy prayer. You can use it when you are in a hurry, you can use it when you are in a fright, you can use it when you have not time to bow your knee.You can use it in the pulpit if you are going to preach, you can use it when you are opening your shop, you can use it when you are rising in the morning. It is such a handy prayer that I hardly know any position in which you could not pray it.”

“Lord, help me.”

Sometimes we don’t know how or what to pray. Sometimes we just don’t have the words. But our prayers don’t have to be lofty or elaborate. 

This is a prayer that can easily be at the forefront of our minds throughout the day – at all times acknowledging God’s sovereign Lordship and our need for Him. 

Through this woman’s faith and her persistence, Jesus continues interacting with her and grants her her request. “Oh woman, great is your faith. Let it be done for you as you desire.”