Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. Go your way …” (Luke 10:2-3, NKJV).
When He spoke these words, Jesus wasn’t saying we should just pray for more pastors, as though the work of worldwide evangelism ought to be relegated to paid professionals. Also, this task was not reserved for the 12 apostles alone.
Instead, Jesus sent out 70 of His disciples with the same mission to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom in word and deed. We don’t know who these disciples were. Perhaps some were the Galilean women who helped fund Jesus’ ministry. What we know is that they all came back from their journeys rejoicing in the authority and power of Jesus’ name.
Every follower of Jesus is meant to be a laborer; every disciple a disciple-maker. Jesus sends us to the places where He Himself is ready to work, whether it’s an office, a neighborhood or a school. He asks us all to beseech Him for more laborers, and in His next breath, He bids us to go.
As we faithfully pray for laborers, we may discover that we’re praying for ourselves. For the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.
Prayer + Reflection
- Ask God to renew your passion for His harvest and for Him to help you to identify the “persons of peace” around you (Luke 10:5-6).
- Let’s pray for the believers who do not see themselves as laborers in the harvest, that the words of Jesus would reframe how they see themselves and compel them to step into the harvest.
- Let’s pray for unreached and unengaged people groups around the world who currently have no gospel witness. May God motivate and send many laborers out among every people group, nation, tribe and tongue.
