And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.” But He answered her not a word … Matthew 15:22-23a ESV
Did it ever feel as if God wasn’t paying any attention to you? That is undoubtedly exactly the feeling that the woman in today’s verse experienced. She cried. She begged. She fell to Jesus’ feet. But nothing she could do or say seemed to touch the Lord. Her story reminded me of the Bangladeshi people who come to work the gravel of the dry river banks in North India. They are rejected by most of the local people and forced to take the lowest and most menial jobs. Yet at the end of the story we find that not only did Jesus care but that He did answer her cry and in fact He had made this – His longest trip of His lifetime just for her .
But when it feels like Jesus is not listening and other believers tell us that it is no use, we have a decision to make. Will we continue to pray or will we give up? For all of us there comes that single moment when we have to decide what to do God’s silence. This woman who appeared to have no background, no friends and no hope leaves us with a testimony of hope, not only that God is listening but that He cares enough to hear and answer prayer! Think of it as if Jesus made His trip to earth, just for you, and keep on trusting till an answer comes!
Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. Matthew 15:28

My husband & I learned that when others were telling us to give up, we needed to lean into Jesus & ignore the naysayers (2 of which were pastors). We were victorious through Christ and our “leaders” were proven wrong.
It’s fine to ask the advice of others but the final word needs to come from God alone!
You can take that to the bank!!
I try not to give advice if it isn’t asked for outside of our family. On rare occasion I have broken that rule only to give a loving warning to someone I felt needed a word of caution. But you’re absolutely right. Ultimately each of us has to make the call according to our conscience.