Lord of the Harvest, Pt. I

“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 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 laborers into his harvest.” [Matthew 9:35-38 ESV]

Lord and Master of the Harvest,

You have called me to pray earnestly to You, to send out laborers into Your Harvest. What a joy and privilege it is for me to serve You and Your purposes in this way. I confess that I need Your help through the Word of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit to pray earnestly.

Open my eyes to see the significance of the need and the importance of my participation in harvest-advancing prayer. I am easily distracted, and my sight is often unfocused.

Set my mind to think and meditate upon Your global harvest. I am bombarded with information, quick to make judgments, and too shallow in my understanding.

Bend my will to respond with readiness to Your prompting and to my planning to pray. I am stubborn in the flesh, react rebelliously, and am quick to rationalize my sin.

Stir my heart with deep conviction and generous compassion to motivate earnest prayer as a priority of my life. In the flesh, I am selfish and often callous to the needs of others and to the preeminence of Your authority in my life.

Shape my words with courage and clarity to honor You and Your worldwide mission. When I pray, I am weak and careless, prone to ambiguity, or sometimes remain silent.

I plead with You to send forth laborers into Your harvest to carry on the advance of the Gospel of Your kingdom to ends of the earth!

For global joy and eternal glory around Your throne!

Amen.