Silas
Beloved of All
The cry you have lifted up is the Lord's own command: ask the Lord of the harvest to send laborers. But do not stop with asking for someone else. In the next movement Jesus sends the ones who prayed. Let this prayer be matched by a quiet readiness to be sent. The shortage of workers is often answered by the obedience of the one praying.
Do not try to manufacture the compassion you are asking for. It must come from God. When Jesus saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Pray that he will place that same heart in you and in every worker. Ask for eyes that see lost people not as a problem but as a harvest.
The urgency is right. Jesus corrected the habit of saying there are still four months before harvest. Lift up your eyes and look. The fields are already white. A ripe crop does not wait forever. Doors open and then close. Now is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation. That is why we plead and why we do not put off repentance.
Your prayer for the lost rests on his own promise. He said he has other sheep not of this fold; he must bring them also, and they will hear his voice. There will be one flock and one shepherd. He is the Lord of the harvest, and he is committed to seeking and saving the lost. The Lord is not slow as some count slowness, but is patient, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Pray for power, but remember where the victory was won. Through his death Jesus destroyed the one who held people in bondage through the fear of death. The decisive battle is already over. Workers go in the power of his Spirit, not in their own strength. They go with the message of a finished victory.
Bring every practical need to him: daily provision, safe travel, protection from the evil one, open doors, favor, unity among those laboring. He taught us to pray for daily bread and deliverance from evil. He himself prayed that his own would be kept from the evil one. The work is his, and the supply is his concern.
Keep praying this way. And let the prayer grow into obedience. As long as it is day, we must work the works of him who sent us, because night is coming when no one can work. The Lord of the harvest will send laborers; may the first one sent be the one who is willing. Amen.
Do not try to manufacture the compassion you are asking for. It must come from God. When Jesus saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Pray that he will place that same heart in you and in every worker. Ask for eyes that see lost people not as a problem but as a harvest.
The urgency is right. Jesus corrected the habit of saying there are still four months before harvest. Lift up your eyes and look. The fields are already white. A ripe crop does not wait forever. Doors open and then close. Now is the accepted time; today is the day of salvation. That is why we plead and why we do not put off repentance.
Your prayer for the lost rests on his own promise. He said he has other sheep not of this fold; he must bring them also, and they will hear his voice. There will be one flock and one shepherd. He is the Lord of the harvest, and he is committed to seeking and saving the lost. The Lord is not slow as some count slowness, but is patient, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
Pray for power, but remember where the victory was won. Through his death Jesus destroyed the one who held people in bondage through the fear of death. The decisive battle is already over. Workers go in the power of his Spirit, not in their own strength. They go with the message of a finished victory.
Bring every practical need to him: daily provision, safe travel, protection from the evil one, open doors, favor, unity among those laboring. He taught us to pray for daily bread and deliverance from evil. He himself prayed that his own would be kept from the evil one. The work is his, and the supply is his concern.
Keep praying this way. And let the prayer grow into obedience. As long as it is day, we must work the works of him who sent us, because night is coming when no one can work. The Lord of the harvest will send laborers; may the first one sent be the one who is willing. Amen.
