Does God answer a mother's prayer for her child?

By Pastor Kaloma Smith, Senior Pastor, UAMEZ Church · Last updated October 1, 2026

Yes. I believe God answers a mother's prayer, though rarely on our schedule. In Mark 7:24-30 a mother from outside Israel pushed past every barrier to reach Jesus, kept asking after his first answer, and went home on his word alone. Her daughter was healed before she walked in the door. I preached this sermon on Mother's Day, May 10, 2026. Watch the full sermon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DEclDpc6kUw

What happens in Mark 7:24-30?

A Gentile mother begs Jesus to free her daughter, and he heals the girl because of how the mother answers him. Jesus had gone to the region of Tyre and Sidon to rest, and he did not want anyone to know he was there. He could not stay hidden. A Syrophoenician woman, a foreigner who did not share his faith or know the temple customs, came and fell at his feet. Jesus gave her a hard answer about feeding the children first. She answered back that even the dogs under the table get the children's crumbs. He told her to go home, and the demon had left her daughter.

Why should parents pray when the world feels this heavy?

Because prayer is the strongest thing God has put in our hands. Turn on the news and you hear about another shooting, another war, another missing child. Parents here in Silicon Valley feel the culture pulling their kids in a thousand directions, and plenty of us wonder what kind of world we brought them into. I told the church that heaven did not hand us a sword or a playbook for this. God gave us prayer. Scripture is full of mothers who used it. Jochebed put baby Moses in the river, trusting God to get him somewhere safe, and he ended up in Pharaoh's house. Hannah prayed past the priest for a son, and God gave her Samuel.

What does it look like to pray boldly for your child?

It looks like walking into rooms where you were not invited. This mother entered a house full of men at a time when women were not at the table. She did not wait for anyone to introduce her. I grew up in Mount Vernon, New York, and I watched Black single mothers walk into the school board office to defend their children. I have seen parents here do the same when schools tried to push their kids aside. In the sermon I said, "protocol doesn't heal children." A praying mother is willing to be impolite when her child's life is on the line. So hold on to your boldness, and don't let anyone make your children feel small.

What if God says no or stays silent?

Stay at the altar and keep asking. Jesus' first answer to this woman has always bothered me. Most of us would have walked away. She told the Creator of the universe that the answer was not good enough yet, because her baby still needed help. I don't know why God is sometimes silent, and I won't pretend to. I do know that "Tenacity outlasts the silence." Some of you have been carrying a child to God for five years, or ten. Don't give up. God answers prayer in his time, not ours.

Does a mother's prayer still work when the child is grown?

Yes, and I am the evidence. I went to three high schools and struggled in college. After I came home from my first college and moved out, my parents were still praying for me. I used to say my parents started making more sense when I turned 26, and I went back to church at 27. My mother kept looking for ways to help me long after I had left the house and started a career. "Even when I was running from God, my mother's prayers were running faster." I would not be standing in this pulpit without them.

Do you need proof before you trust God's answer?

No. This mother walked home with nothing in her hand except a word from Jesus. She never brought her daughter to him. As I told the church, "God can work long distance and won't charge you extra." When she got home, the child was lying in bed and the demon was gone. If God has given you a yes, get up and walk in it. And notice what she asked for. She asked for a crumb. You may not need the whole feast, because one piece of what Jesus has can change a life.

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