You are on your morning commute, driving as usual, when you pass a giant field full of tomato plants. The plants are ripe and lush and past the point of being picked. You look around but see only a handful of workers picking the plants. You continue driving and go about your day. The next day, you drive in the same direction and see the field in the same state with the same few workers and barely any progress made. Thousands of lush, ripe plants are sitting there with no one picking them.
You drive past this field daily during harvest, and every day, there are barely any changes to the amount of tomatoes picked. Until one unfortunate day, you drive past the field and see a field of rotted tomatoes. All those beautiful tomatoes went to waste because there were too many for the harvesters to pick.
Did you know that in Luke 10, Jesus tells the seventy-two that the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few? He commands them to pray to the God of the harvest to send out laborers.
Luke 10:2 states, After this the Lord appointed seventy-two[a] others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go. 2 And he said to them, “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.
Reading these scriptures convicted my heart. How often do I pray for laborers, and how often am I willing to become a laborer?
Pray for the Called
God showed me two different types of laborers we must pray for daily. The first type is those who hold specific offices.
These are the people that many Christians automatically think of when it comes to sharing the gospel. They are the apostles, evangelists, prophets, preachers, and teachers. Satan actively seeks to destroy those called to these offices.
Some future preachers are currently on the streets with addiction destroying their lives. There are evangelists who have not accepted salvation themselves, future prophets who have never heard of the one true God, teachers, that religion and legalism have hurt and who want nothing to do with the church, and apostles who are so deep in depression and despair that they are one step away from ending their lives.
Many of the laborers God has called to this end-time ministry are still currently a part of the harvest. If Satan can keep them bound, he can keep them from participating in the end time anointing God called them to. They all have crucial roles to play in accomplishing kingdom work.
God will fulfill his ultimate end-time purpose, no matter what, but he has appointed certain people to be in roles they are currently not occupying, and he needs to do his work.
These people are key to the work of God; therefore, we must pray for them daily. Many of them are going through living hell, and they need us to uphold them in prayer.
So, the next time you see the worst kind of sinner, remember you may be looking at a called preacher. Save your judgment and instead pray for them and offer them help if you are in the position.
Submit and Pray for the Submitted
And if you feel called to any of these offices, then it is time to submit to the call and take steps to walk in all God has called you to.
We must also pray for those currently stepping into their roles and those already occupying them. Satan still fights these people and seeks to limit their impact on the kingdom. He wants them to be worn down and worn out; they need our prayers and support.
The Harvest Field of Everyday Life
The second laborers we need to pray for are everyday Christians. It isn’t the leaders alone that God calls to work in the fields. Your workplace, favorite coffee shop, family, neighborhood, and school are fields that need working.
I believe Christians have decided that no one is interested in God. We think people will mock us or won’t receive what we say, so we keep our mouths shut and merely live our lives reflecting God through our lifestyles. And although it is correct that our actions must reflect God. People also need to hear hope. They need the hope of a savior, healer, deliverer, and friend.
They also need the truth. The world is open about their beliefs and agendas. They are not ashamed to publicly profess their views, so why are we? If the world is openly feeding people lies that will only keep them bound, shouldn’t we be willing to offer the freedom found in Jesus?
Witnessing is more than sharing the message of salvation alone; it is asking people if you can pray for them, laying hands on the sick and believing you will see healing manifest, speaking truth in the midst of lies, and putting action behind loving the people in our lives.
The Harvest is Ripe
We must begin praying that Christians will wake up and realize the need for evangelism in everyday life. Your next-door neighbor is more willing to receive an invite to church than you think they are. Your co-worker is more open to being prayed for when their chronic pain is acting up than you would expect. And your friends may be willing to allow you to speak truth into their lives even if you don’t think they will agree.
Many people are not as hardened as we Christians think they are. Oh, there are plenty who are and who may even spit in your face, but the vast majority are longing for someone to show them the truth and a way out of their sin, pain, suffering, loneliness, and sickness.
Jesus said the harvest is plentiful. This means there are plenty of people who have already had seeds planted into their hearts and received watering but are waiting for someone to come along and harvest what God has already planted in them.
Although plenty of seeds still need planting and people still need watering, a lot are willing to receive Jesus and are waiting for someone to show them the way, invite them to church, pray with them, or reveal the lies they believe. They are ready for harvesting.
A Call to Action
We must pray daily to the God of the harvest that he will send harvesters into the marketplace, the schools, and the workplace. And be willing to be the laborers he calls. We also must be praying God sends harvesters into Washington, Hollywood, and our local and global governments. Let’s commit to praying for God to raise up the current and future leaders of the body of Christ as well as everyday harvesters and pledge to cover them in much-needed prayer.
Referenced Verses: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+10&version=ESV
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