Praying for Laborers
Luke 10:2
“He told
them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the
Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest
field.”
Study
Jesus taught
his disciples that they should pray and he taught them how they
should pray. Rarely do we find instruction on what the disciples
should pray about however, which makes this passage very
important.
- Why does
Jesus ask his disciples to pray for laborers when it would seem
that it would be much more effective if he had prayed for more
laborers?
Consider what
Andrew Murray writes:
How little
[Christians] believe that our labor supply depends on
prayer and that prayer will really provide “as many as
he needs.” … How little the burden of the sheep
wandering without a Shepherd is really translated into
faith that the Lord of the harvest will send forth the
laborers in answer to prayer. Murray
identifies two reasons why we don’t obey Jesus’ command to pray for
laborers. Do you think this is an accurate assessment?
- We do not
have the compassion and heart for the lost that Jesus did
- We do not
believe in the power of prayer enough to expect results to this
prayer
In most
churches 80% of the labor is done by 20% of the people. If your
church is even twice as well off as the average church, 60% of your
church is relatively inactive. We do not lack for numbers, we lack
for laborers. This is frustrating for the pastor as well as other
dedicated members. Nevertheless, it is a fact that is unlikely to
change. We are held accountable for what we do and God will bless
the work we do if others join us or not.
Consider what
was accomplished by the work of twelve men who worked to spread the
gospel. They did a lot of work by themselves but they were
ultimately successful because they trusted God to provide men and
women to continue the work they had started in a church. If you had
twelve such people who were committed to praying for laborers many
great things could be accomplished within your church as well.
Lack of Labor or Wrong Program?
When we see
that there is a lack of workers we must go before God in prayer and
trust that He will provide according to His will. Sometimes this
will require patience on our part because what we perceive as a lack
of workers God may not see as a need. Just because one church is
successful with a certain type of ministry does not mean that this
is a need within your church as well. Or it could be. We must pray
for wisdom and trust God to provide the laborers at the appropriate
time.
Adapted from
“With Christ in the School of Prayer” by Andrew Murray
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