“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’ “ (Matthew 9:37-38).
Although these verses are usually interpreted to mean that we should pray for more people to come to the knowledge of the truth who could join the work, it seems to me that they may just as well mean that we should pray that laborers who are available, but not in the field, should get involved in the harvest. If that is the case, then we should all be praying for help to see what we can be doing, not just for others to come along who will do the work.
In any event, it is clear that we are told to pray earnestly (the Greek word is a form of deomai signifying “beseeching” or even “begging”). We can hardly pray in this manner without personal involvement in the need for which we pray. How? We can pray earnestly for more workers to be called, or to become involved, for their needs, and for the success of their work. What else can we do? Certainly we can help financially, as we are able, to support good work where it is being done [Note: TacticalChristianity.org does not accept donations or gifts], but prayer always must be the first priority. That’s what Jesus stressed. On the other hand, other scriptures do show the necessity of helping those workers who “go out” into the harvest. Notice the words of John in this regard:
“Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are … You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name … Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth” (3 John 1:5-8 ESV).
So, even if it is not our calling to personally go out into the “harvest field,” there is much that we can do to support those who do go and to be “fellow workers.” The “advertisement” for help needed has already been published. It is up to us to respond today!
Although these verses are usually interpreted to mean that we should pray for more people to come to the knowledge of the truth who could join the work, it seems to me that they may just as well mean that we should pray that laborers who are available, but not in the field, should get involved in the harvest. If that is the case, then we should all be praying for help to see what we can be doing, not just for others to come along who will do the work.
In any event, it is clear that we are told to pray earnestly (the Greek word is a form of deomai signifying “beseeching” or even “begging”). We can hardly pray in this manner without personal involvement in the need for which we pray. How? We can pray earnestly for more workers to be called, or to become involved, for their needs, and for the success of their work. What else can we do? Certainly we can help financially, as we are able, to support good work where it is being done [Note: TacticalChristianity.org does not accept donations or gifts], but prayer always must be the first priority. That’s what Jesus stressed. On the other hand, other scriptures do show the necessity of helping those workers who “go out” into the harvest. Notice the words of John in this regard:
“Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are … You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name … Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth” (3 John 1:5-8 ESV).
So, even if it is not our calling to personally go out into the “harvest field,” there is much that we can do to support those who do go and to be “fellow workers.” The “advertisement” for help needed has already been published. It is up to us to respond today!
