I won’t forget the time when I realized that even though I was a dedicated cross-cultural missionary serving Christ in Cambodia, I was not obedient in praying for Him to raise up more laborers for the harvest.
In Matthew 9:36-38, Jesus commands His disciples to pray earnestly that God would send laborers into His harvest. The meaning of this command is clear enough: we must pray for gospel laborers to work in God’s harvest fields to make disciples for Him. I would like to explore with you the answer to the following question about Christ’s command: Why did Jesus command us to pray for laborers?
One reason for such a command is that by praying this way we are forced to acknowledge spiritual realities with greater focus. Our sinful hearts are ever drawn toward materialism, living for the moment, this life, and what is visible and seen. That is why we are given words of exhortation such as these over and over again: “Set your affections on things above, not on things on the earth” (see Colossians 3:1); and “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (see Matthew. 6:33). Keeping our hearts fixed on spiritual and eternal realities requires constant effort. That is one reason why we must “pray without ceasing” (1Thessalonians 5:17).
Jesus said, “for where your treasure is, there your heart [your wishes, your desires; that on which your life centers] will be also” (Matthew 6:21, AMP). The same is true about prayer; how we pray directs our hearts’ desires, guiding our priorities.
When Jesus commands us to ask Him to send laborers into His harvest, He is actually instructing us to intentionally keep eternal realities in mind by praying this way. I encourage you to meditate with me on these two spiritual realities:
1) There is a spiritual harvest.
2) Each of us has a responsibility to labor in that harvest.
There is a spiritual harvest! Isn’t it sad that we must continually be reminded to open our spiritual eyes to see the eternal souls of the multitudes around us? We get so incredibly busy with life, so weighed down with surviving, that we often lose focus. Even those whose main business is gospel ministry can become trapped in its administration and details to the point where we lose our passion to reach the lost.
When I was in college at Bob Jones University, Dr. Bob III would begin the chapel times when he spoke with this statement: “The most sobering reality in the world today is that people are dying and going to hell today.” We might take issue with what might be the “most sobering reality” today, but one thing is quite certain: at least one of the most sobering realities in the world today is that most of the nearly 164,000 people who die each day are entering eternal torment and separation from God.[1] It was wise of Dr. Bob to drill this into the hearts of the students. God has certainly used it in my life!
We are tempted to become jaded and lose faith about the harvest. Negative experiences with professed believers falling away and continual rejection from the hardhearted can lead us to feel that there no longer remains a harvest to be reaped. Wrong! Jesus said that the harvest exists, and it is abundant. Refocus! Have faith! Praying for the harvest calls us to think biblically about the ministry of the Gospel.
By praying for laborers, we are forced to reckon with the fact that Jesus calls each of us to work to seek a spiritual harvest. Prayer for laborers leads us to an inescapable conclusion—all are laborers; each of us must be working in the harvest.
God will certainly call out some who pray this way to give themselves fully to this spiritual harvest work. There is power in this prayer, for it is backed with God’s eternal purposes and promises. This prayer will be answered.
I wonder if fear keeps some from praying this prayer. Could it be that some of us don’t pray for laborers to enter the harvest because we don’t want to be reminded about the spiritual needs around them? Are we intentionally avoiding our responsibility? Might some of us even be afraid to pray lest God call us to give our lives wholly to this work?
Let us not forget that there is no greater joy than seeing this prayer answered in our lives and in the lives of others. There is no need to fear this prayer!
[1] https://worldpopulationreview.com/countries/deaths-per-day