Today’s Bible Verse
Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.
Matt 9:38 (NKJV)
Lord of the Harvest-Laborers
Jesus was in the center of a fallen world ministering to broken humanity. He was ministering the fullness of heaven’s supply of healing, restoration, and deliverance to a people who were scattered and aimless like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Matthew 9:37, NKJV).
I want to focus on 3 things that Jesus says in response to a great need. His is a response we can all glean from.
The first is to “Pray.” Prayer is the birthplace of the supernatural. Prayer is not our last option but our first response according to Jesus. When in time of intense and urgent need, what he says is, “Therefore pray”—“pray earnestly about the laborers into his harvest.”
Why does Jesus begin with this? He knew that His authority and message came through prayer and through connecting with the Father in the power of the Spirit. Jesus always knew when He should withdraw and pray. He never became distracted by the work because He always knew that power for the work came from God. More prayer equals more help and more divine intervention, empowerment, and solutions.
Prayer was Jesus’ continual lifestyle and practice. He prayed passionately for Himself and for others as he walked this earth. Romans 12:12 tells us, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer” (NKJV). Prayer is how we partner with God. It’s how we bring heaven to earth. It’s how we access his will and his power to get things done:
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. (John 17:9 NKJV)
We need a generation who on bended knees will cry out in intercession for the lost, aimless, and powerless to encounter the Lord.
The second is to pray to the “Lord of the Harvest.” Our heavenly Father is the Lord of the Harvest. Pray God to send them! Ask Him to give us men who will preach the whole truth of God, who will tell men that salvation is of the Lord. Men who will not go about to please them by letting them have a finger in salvation, as though they were to share in the glory of it! Men who have His heart and hear His voice and obey.
The Lord of the Harvest will stir up the hearts of true disciples who will cooperate with His desire and passion for the souls of humanity. The Lord of the Harvest has a divine supernatural plan that He will release into the hearts of His sons and daughters who have counted the cost and will obey. If the Lord doesn’t build the house, they labor in vain (Psalms 127:1).
Pray the Lord of the harvest to give His Church binders who can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, unite men’s hearts! The Lord of the Harvest will stir up hearts for the harvest like no one else can.
The third is it send Laborers. Charles Spurgeon once said, “Oh for laborers who can use sharp cutting sickles upon ungodly hearts! But then a laborer has only begun when he cuts the corn—much more is needed. As he cuts, he lets the corn fall onto his arm, and then he lays it along in rows. But afterwards he binds it together and makes it into bundles, that it may be gathered in.“
So, the laborer whom God sends into the field must be a gathering laborer. He must bring God’s people together, who comforts those that mourn and picks up from the earth those who were cut down by the sharp sickle of conviction. He must bind the saints together, edifying them in their most holy faith.
Remember also that the laborer’s work is never done in harvest time till he sees the corn housed—until it is made into a stack or put into a barn, his toil is not over. And the Christian minister, if God has truly anointed him to His work, never leaves caring for souls till they get to Heaven. The fact is, while we’re praying, the Holy Spirit is searching the earth, putting an urgency in the hearts of those who desire to be used by the Lord. He’s touching people everywhere, setting them apart for his service.
While we’re asking God (Lord of the Harvest) to send forth laborers, the Holy Spirit is stirring someone somewhere, and it doesn’t matter where it takes place. The powerful truth is that our prayers are being used to send laborers into the harvest. (Pastor Fika Esau)
Change My Story
Right after this verse, at the start of the next chapter (Matthew 10:1-2), the Lord answered the prayer and Jesus anointed His 12 disciples, marking them as the answer, the Lord of the Harvest Laborers. Only true disciples are the Lord of the Harvest Laborers. Men and women who are fully committed to following the Lord no matter what it takes. Favorable or unfavorable, the Lord of the Harvest Laborers aren’t just content with knowing the truth—but also walking in the truth. They are the harvest hands that God will use to gather in the end-time harvest. They are the ones who will manifest the kingdom of heaven in a dark world. These are the compassionate ones who will love people back to life. These Lord of the Harvest Laborers are the salt and light to their generation and the answer to the laborers’ need.
Today’s Declaration
Lord, as an answer to the prayer for the laborers needed, here I am Lord, send me. Capture my heart, Lord, and mark me as one of your harvest hands. As a true disciple of Christ, whatever it takes I will do it, Lord. Wherever it is, I will go. Whoever it is, I say yes. Use me as Your Lord of the Harvest Laborer.
Today’s Bible Reading
- Old Testament: 1 Chronicles 29; Psalms 137
- New Testament: Luke 9:51-62; 1 Thessalonians 2:10-20
