#274: Praying for More Workers

The 5 Minute Discipleship Podcast

On a church sign in a midwest farming town was these word: “Pray for the harvest, but keep on working.”

This reminds me of the words of Jesus in Matthew chapter nine. Jesus is concerned about those who are lost in their sins. What was needed was more laborers; more people to share the good news. But before asking his disciples to pray for more workers, he reminded them of a powerful truth: “The harvest is plentiful. It’s ripe and ready to be reaped, but the workers are few.

Matthew 9:35-38 - “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

I believe Jesus is making a powerful point. Yes, prayer is vital. More workers are needed, but we must recognize that God wants to use us to pray and to work.

I love the quote by Saint Augustine - Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you.

We’ll never reach our world for Christ until our hearts are changed. Our hearts are changed as our focus changes. Our focus changes as we see pray.

When we become people of prayer three things happen to us.

•One is that it puts us in tune with what God is doing.

•Second, prayer focuses our attention on the need as we cry out to God to meet the need.

•It changes our heart towards lost people.

It’s in this prayer process that God imparts to us a burden for lost people. As we begin to pray and turn our hearts toward God, so often we are praying ourselves into the solution.

“The laborers are few” – Why is there a shortage of laborers? Because it involves labor! Reaching people for Christ involves effort and time. You have to roll up your sleeves, you have to sweat a little, and you have to get dirty. Few are willing to do that.

Jesus is telling us it all starts with prayer. Verse 38 - “Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” The first thing to do is pray. Why pray? Because it is God’s work. What is impossible with men is possible with God. If there is going to be a great harvest of souls, it will be because of God. The harvest we want to see is impossible with us. A life changed by the power of God is a miracle.

If you want to see God change your heart and give you more of a concern for the lost in our world, I have a suggestion. Buy a map. Open it. Lift your voice in prayer over its people and places. Many people have done so only to find their hearts are opened in the process.

Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision once said, “Let me be broken with the things that break God’s heart.”

May God open our eyes to see the lost around us. Jesus said he came to seek and to save those who were lost. The lost are in our neighborhoods. They are in the marketplace. They are in our places of work and in our schools.

Today’s Challenge: Pray that God would give you his heart! Begin to pray for the lost around you. Pray for the salvation of your family. Pray for your co-workers. Pray for your friends at school. Pray for a country of the world. Pray for our missionaries. Pray for more laborers in the harvest.