Prayer…
If we won’t commit our time to prayer, it is unlikely we will commit our time to serve people. Or if we do, the service will be from a wrong intention – trying to check something off a daily “to do” list. God designed us to serve out of the overflow of a heart that has been in his presence (and continues to bask in it!)
So what might we pray for? We see and experience Jesus prayers as we read the gospels. Many early prayers of the early church are recorded for us to take note of, as well. But I want to focus on something that Jesus not only exemplified, but told us to pray for: workers.
Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness. He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn’t know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is so great, but the workers are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields.”
Matthew 9:35-38Matthew 9:35-38
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
Jesus Has Pity on People 35 ; ; . Jesus went to every town and village. He taught in their meeting places and preached the good news about God's kingdom. Jesus also healed every kind of disease and sickness. 36 ; ; . When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 . He said to his disciples, “A large crop is in the fields, but there are only a few workers. 38 Ask the Lord in charge of the harvest to send out workers to bring it in.”
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Do you make it a practice to ask God to send out workers? I know it often seems easier to pray for my own direction, for wisdom and vision for what is happening around me. But the early church grew because the body prayed for the body. We may have lost some of that awareness due to our individualistic society, but God has not forgotten. Our hearts for the lost are first seen in our requests for God to send someone to work the fields.
Until our hearts are burdened enough to pray, they won’t really be prepared to serve. And we can see in Jesus own ministry what that service looked like. In these couple verses we see people being healed, we see Jesus compassion given to the people. We see Jesus recognizing the need of the people for direction. These were needy people. It would cost something physically and emotionally to meet their needs.
That’s where we can start praying. That God would break our hearts for those who are hurting. Not just personally, but everyone in the body. Rather than only praying for opportunities, pray that God would help you feel what others are feeling, to know beyond just a head-knowledge what it means to be broken, without direction, without hope. Though we were once there, it can become a distant memory, one we want to forget about. Though we may see opportunities, it doesn’t mean we will act on them. It is a heart that is turned towards the broken that will respond, not just see.
So we start with prayer. But that only begs the question… is someone praying for us? Is someone praying that we would be the ones to go out in the field with God’s compassion? With his will and power to meet the need, even?
Stop right now and pray for God to send workers, then listen to what he is saying to you. Pick a specific place or region that needs workers, near or far. Make this a regular matter for your times with God, and as you continue in it, you will come to see people as God sees them!
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