In the Gospels, Jesus identifies two people who have great faith, greater than any faith that He witnessed in all of Israel.
First, there was the Centurion:
"5And when Jesus was
entered into Capernaum, there came unto him a centurion, beseeching him, 6And
saying, Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented.
7And Jesus saith unto
him, I will come and heal him. 8The centurion answered
and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but
speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. 9For I am a man under
authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he
goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he
doeth it. 10When Jesus heard
it, he marvelled, and said to them that followed, Verily I say unto you,
I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 11And I say unto you,
That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham,
and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. 12But the children of
the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. 13And Jesus said unto
the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto
thee. And his servant was healed in the selfsame hour." (Matthew 8: 5-13)
Here is the account in Luke:
"2And a certain centurion's
servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. 3And when
he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that
he would come and heal his servant. 4And when they came to
Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he
should do this: 5For he loveth our nation,
and he hath built us a synagogue. 6Then Jesus went with
them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to
him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou
shouldest enter under my roof: 7Wherefore neither thought
I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be
healed. 8For I also am a man set
under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth;
and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth
it. 9When Jesus heard these
things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that
followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in
Israel. 10And they that were
sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick." (Luke 7: 2-10)
The other was the Syro-Phoenician woman:
21Then Jesus went
thence, and departed into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon. 22And, behold, a
woman of Canaan came out of the same coasts, and cried unto him, saying, Have
mercy on me, O Lord, thou Son of David; my daughter is grievously vexed
with a devil. 23But he answered her
not a word. And his disciples came and besought him, saying, Send her away; for
she crieth after us. 24But he answered and
said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 25Then came she and
worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. 26But he answered and
said, It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to
dogs. 27And she said,
Truth, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters'
table. 28Then Jesus answered
and said unto her, O woman, great is thy faith: be it unto thee even as
thou wilt. And her daughter was made whole from that very hour." (Matthew 15: 21-28)
Here is Luke's account:
"24And 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: but he could not be hid. 25For a
certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him,
and came and fell at his feet: 26The woman was a Greek,
a Syrophenician by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the
devil out of her daughter. 27But 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. 28And she answered and
said unto him, Yes, Lord: yet the dogs under the table eat of the children's
crumbs. 29And he said unto her,
For this saying go thy way; the devil is gone out of thy daughter. 30And
when she was come to her house, she found the devil gone out, and her daughter
laid upon the bed." (Mark 7: 24-30)
What led these two, the Centurion and the Syro-Phenician/Canaanite woman, to have great faith? They were Gentiles, and therefore they were not under law, trying to earn God's blessings through law-keeping. Thus they had no conscience of sin or of dead works, that they could ask Jesus for something without fear of rejection. The Canaanite was really impressive, in that she kept seeking Jesus' help even after she stopped trying to play up a "Jewish" approach — when she first addressed Jesus as "The Son of David" as recorded in Matthew's account — and his account was directed initially to the Jews. Mark's Gospel, written to the Gentiles, does not mention this part.
We must come to God with the same confidence, knowing that all our sins are forgiven, and that through the Finished Work of His Son, we have nothing to fear from approaching God as our Father, our "Daddy".