Yesterday I wrote about praying for more workers in the harvest field as a direct result of the compassion we feel for the harvest field. We can pray that prayer with a great deal of boldness and confidence, because we know we are praying God’s will.
However, consider this caution: you might want to wait to pray this prayer until you’re ready to do something with the workers that come in. One pastor preached on this passage on Sunday, then on Monday (normally his day off) stopped into the church for something. There was a guy at the door waiting for him. “What are you doing?” “You preached yesterday about needing workers to go into the harvest field. What do you want me to do?” The pastor was embarrassed and had to send the guy home. He had no plan for worker and nothing to do with them.
So be ready if you pray this prayer. It’s God’s will and he will answer. Our gathering prayed this prayer recently and I had someone contact me that week who was interested in moving forward. We prayed again, and another worker came forward. Matthew 9 is a prayer we can pray in faith, but we must be ready.
In Matthew 10, Jesus sent his disciples out to engage in the harvest fields. Consider how you can do that in your context? How can you invest in the people you already have and send them out to engage in the harvest?