“Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 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 (thrust forth) laborers into his harvest.” –Matthew 9:35–39
The gap between the size of the coming Kingdom harvest and the number of necessary workers, heightens the urgency of radical prayer as never before in Church history.
I spent many hours as an MK in prayer meetings with my parents. Monthly all-day affairs, in stuffy rooms, with zealous missionaries on their knees praying for two things—for the Spirit to open the eyes of the Japanese to the gospel, and that he would send more workers to post-WWII Japan. In a nation of 120 million people, with a church of less than 200,000 believers, and a missionary force of less than 1000, the impossibility of the task was obvious!
From those early impressions, I gained a clear impression that a huge harvest demanded sufficient laborers. Crosscultural workers have long taken this very pointed biblical prayer seriously. It’s a radical prayer we are to pray with urgent regularity, for how we pray reveals our motivation to see the harvest completed!
It was my father that taught me, “Whenever there is a shortage of workers in the church or missions, it is not a recruiting problem, it’s a prayer problem!”
Jesus addressed this glaring need early in his ministry with his novice followers. With little comprehension at this point, they would begin to grasp the command—harvesting begins with radical prayer and radical obedience.
Four ingredients shape the supernatural potential of Jesus’s command:
First, it was Jesus’s heart of compassion for the lost that motivated his instruction to the disciples. That same heart sensitivity of mercy must be the motivation of any harvest worker today. And harvest workers will come from every country, every ethnic group, and will far outnumber full-time crosscultural workers. This is a responsibility every believer has to accept. The compassion of the global church must resonate with the Lord’s compassion for those who remain unreached.
Second, it was Jesus’s perspective of the readiness of the harvest that enabled him to declare that it was not a lost cause; it was a finishable task: the harvest is ripening and is plentiful! The immensity of the task demands more workers than we have at the moment. Their joy would erupt out of co-laboring with the Master—and countless others—to see the global harvest gathered in!
Third, it was Jesus’s invitation or command to “pray earnestly” that reveals the radical nature of the solution to the problem—the relational bridge that will close the gap: pray (beseech, beg, implore) the Lord of the Harvest! Why? Because mobilization is the Master’s specialty!
Finally, surprisingly, it was Jesus’s relational priority which directed their prayers be for more people—not programs or money. Jesus is essentially alerting them, from the outset: What I’m preparing you to do is way beyond what you can imagine or do by yourself—but you can do it—in me! Ask me—and I will “thrust forth” the workers! This is essentially a people-to-people solution, where God selects and sends people to connect with people; not a technological or organizational strategy. Jesus promises that Almighty action, not human effort, will get the job done!
It begins with near-neighbor disciple-making, and includes the movement of crosscultural witnesses to unreached peoples—essentially a from everywhere to everywhere strategy.
And we get to join him in praying in the harvest!
Reflection Questions:
What is the Spirit saying to you about applying this hope-filled promise in your prayer life this year?
Ask the Spirit to teach you to pray this prayer in his power by faith, on a regular basis:
“As I host your presence, Holy Spirit, I go in your strength and protection. I pray down your healing, transforming power and authority. I pray today, Lord, that you will thrust forth the laborers needed in _______ (specify a country or region) for the honor of your Name.’’
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Steve Hoke became a life-long worshiper while growing up as a missionary kid in Tokyo, Japan. His passion is to equip and encourage front-line crosscultural leaders to minister with spiritual power and spiritual authority in the difficult places of our world. He now encourages team formation and leader development within Novo and other missions. This includes facilitating the self-discovery of mission leaders to sculpt roles which are aligned with their personality-strengths, skills, gifts, and passion. Steve has been married to Eloise since 1972, has two grown children, and lives in Fort Myers, FL.