“Pray Earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” – Matthew 9:38
In preparation for a Church Revitalization meeting with one of our DBA churches, I read through Matthew 9:35-38 and was reminded of the importance of prayer. It was interesting that Jesus described this kind of prayer as an earnest prayer. The original language translates this word: to ask, request, or beg.
Think about that for a moment. When was the last time you begged God for something? It may have been a time when someone was very sick. It was probably a situation with no immediate solutions, and the only thing left to do was pray. You began to pray earnestly to God, begging him to heal your loved one or friend. I have done this in those situations.
When we look closer at this passage in Matthew, we discover Jesus was not referring to physical healing. It was one where Jesus looked upon the crowds and felt compassion for them. He saw them as harassed and helpless. They were like sheep without a shepherd. With those thoughts in his mind, Jesus said to pray earnestly to the Lord or beg the Lord for more laborers.
As I read those words, I was convicted. I was reminded that the challenge of Jesus was not only a challenge for his followers but also for me and the church I was helping. We were to be praying for laborers. As I spent time at that church, I encouraged them to pray this way.
I invited them to pray earnestly for God to raise up laborers to go out into the harvest field. Next, I asked them what steps they would take over the next month. Everyone agreed they would pray individually and collectively. I then asked them when they were going to pray collectively. They chose a day and time that worked for everyone.
I reminded the group of the theme of the text. It was not to be a prayer time for the sick. There were other times that they could devote themselves to member care intercession. This time of prayer was dedicated to begging God for more laborers. It was a time of pleading with God to open the hearts of their neighbors to Jesus. It was a time to pray for their city leaders to come to know Christ and follow Him.
May we be challenged by the words of Jesus to pray, begging God to send out laborers. Let us pray for those far from God, who are like sheep without a shepherd.