Scripture scholar Curtis Mitch notes that the scriptures provide us with many examples of people walking the faith that we should be emulating in our lives. We can read of the Blessed Mother Mary’s life and her example of discipleship; we can read of Mary and Martha, sisters with different focus points in life – prayer, and service – both of which we should emulate in our lives; and today, we see another example to emulate from the Canaanite woman, that being an effective prayer practice. Now, what do we make of the Canaanite woman’s story? A long tradition in interpreting this story stresses the woman’s perseverance in the face of the “test” that Jesus sets for her. And there is something right about it. St. Augustine says, “We pray in order to expand our will to accept what God is going to give us.” She does three things that we should check our prayer practices against. First, she approaches the Lord with faith, never questioning that Jesus can fulfill her request. Second, she perseveres and doesn’t simply make one request but repeatedly asks the Lord for his divine help. Third, she does all of this with an attitude of humility. Isn’t it amazing that the Canaanite woman doesn’t take offense when Jesus compares her to a house pet? Instead of being offended by the comment, she accepts that she has no claim on this Jewish Messiah. Her reaction presents us with the type of disposition that is essential in petitionary prayer. If we approach the Lord Jesus as the Canaanite woman did, we too can hope for a similar response: “Let it be done for you as you wish.”