On my women’s inspirational channel, called GodsyGirl.com, I wrote a really great post featuring encouraging women in the Bible. Why did I do it? Well, I’ve always felt we focus on the big few – Mary, Esther, Ruth, etc. I wanted to have a contemplation about women in the Bible no one talks about or thinks about. I included women we don’t even know their names and even one that didn’t exist! You have to check it out. The title is: encouraging women of the Bible.
Women’s Bible Study The Canaanite Woman
Why Did I Pick Her for a womens ministry Bible study?
If you’ve never heard a sermon on her, you’re not alone.
I’ve heard her mentioned in sermons, but no one has taught about her in my lifetime.
Well, she shows up for exactly fourteen verses in Matthew 15, and she’s never given a name.
Women without a name offer a good opportunity for you to reach women who also feel invisible. There is a perfect teaching parallel there.
She’s an outsider in every sense. Again, women can relate to that.
More areas women in your women’s ministry Bible study can relate to might be:
- Wrong ethnicity (No explanation needed)
- Wrong religion (Some women may have left their demonizations or even a cult. This could help them process how they may feel being “outside” their family’s faith).
- Wrong gender (No explanation needed)
- Wrong social standing to be approaching a Jewish rabbi in public. (Some women with particular backgrounds may feel like they don’t belong in your church or women’s Bible study. This woman’s story gives you an opportunity to talk about that and to make sure we all welcome everyone.)
All this and yet she becomes one of the boldest, most persistent voices in the entire New Testament.
That’s exactly what this whole women’s Bible study is built around – the women history forgot to name.
However, God never forgot to notice.
Your Free Women’s Ministry Bible Study
1. Do a QUICK Icebreaker
(You can find some here!)
Timing: Minutes 1–2
Ask the group: “Have you ever had to ask for something more than once – maybe even push past a “no” – because you truly believed it mattered? “
Ask: “What did that feel like?“
Read the Story Together
Timing: Minutes 3–5
Read Matthew 15:21–28 aloud.
Here’s a short version:
Jesus travels into Gentile territory, and a Canaanite woman cries out for mercy because her daughter is tormented by a demon. His disciples want to send her away.
Jesus initially responds that he was sent “only to the lost sheep of Israel.” She doesn’t leave. She kneels and asks again.
Jesus tests her further, saying it’s not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs – a hard, culturally loaded line.
She answers back, quick and humble at once: “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Jesus responds, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” Her daughter is healed instantly.
Provide Quick Context for The Ladies in Your Womens Ministry Bible Study
Timing: Minutes 6–8
This woman had three strikes against her by first-century standards:
She was:
– a Gentile
– a woman
– a Canaanite – a people group with a long, painful history of conflict with Israel.
She had every social reason to expect rejection. *You could ask a past reflection question, “Have you ever made a move toward something you needed and you knew you’d likely be rejected?*
Instead of walking away offended, she matched Jesus’ words with her own quick-witted, humble persistence.
Women’s Ministry Bible Study Group Discussion
Timing: Minutes 9–12
Pick one or two of these:
- She kept asking even when the answer looked like “no.” Where in your life do you need that same holy persistence now?
- Jesus called her faith “great” — a description he rarely used. What does her example teach us about faith that doesn’t take offense easily?
- She approached Jesus as an outsider with nothing to offer but need. Have you ever felt too “outside” to bring your request to God?
Reflect and Pray
Every womens ministry Bible study needs a reflection time. It solidifies the learning and boost retention.
Timing: Minutes 13–15
Say:
“Let’s sit for a moment with this question: What “crumb” of God’s mercy are you still waiting on, and are you willing to keep asking for it the way she did?
Closing Prayer
End with a short prayer, thanking God for meeting persistent, humble faith – no matter who’s asking.
A Sample Prayer
Lord, thank you for this womens ministry Bible study and for the Canaanite woman’s example – for her boldness, her humility, and her refusal to walk away before she received your mercy. Teach us to bring our needs to you with that same persistent faith, even when the answer feels delayed or the way feels closed.
Help us trust that you see every person who calls out to you, no matter how far outside they feel. Thank you that your mercy isn’t reserved for the few, but is enough for all who ask. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
That’s it. Fifteen minutes, one woman, one story that still has something to say to you today.
Want More?
Six Women’s Ministry Bible Study Guides!
The Canaanite woman’s persistence is powerful on its own, but her story hits even harder when you place her next to other women who brought different strengths to their own encounters with God.
That’s exactly why I built Encouraging Women of the Bible: Six Women, Six Strengths – a full-length study that goes deeper than today’s sampler. In it, you’ll spend real time with six women who each modeled a different, powerful posture of faith:
- A woman whose hospitality made room for a miracle before she even asked for one
- A woman whose quiet desperation reached through a crowd and was met by name
- A woman whose honesty turned a chance conversation into a citywide revival
- And the Canaanite woman herself, whose persistence refused to take no for an answer
Each session in the full study includes deeper background teaching, guided discussion questions, a personal reflection page, and more- everything you need for a women’s ministry Bible study group that goes far beyond fifteen minutes or so.
If this Bible stirred something in you, I’d love for you to grab the full study.
This is exactly the kind of women’s Bible study on encouraging women of the Bible that’s meant to be walked through slowly, with people you trust, over weeks — not minutes.
Get the full “Six Women, Six Strengths” study here
And if you’re not ready to commit yet, that’s okay too – subscribe, and I’ll keep sending you more resources like this one, so you can meet these encouraging women of the Bible one story at a time.
Love ya!
