Don't Stop Praying for the Harvest

Jesus sees the multitude in Matthew 9 and is moved with compassion because they are fainted and scattered abroad, like sheep having no shepherd. His compassion is love in action. His eyes see people who need help, people who need the gospel, and people who need somebody to come to them with the truth.

Jesus calls the harvest plenteous, but He says the laborers are few. His command is simple: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” Missions is not only about giving, traveling, or preaching in another country. Prayer is one of the greatest things God’s people can do for missions. Jesus turns attention away from personal problems long enough to see the needs of a lost world.

Luke 18 gives the reason not to quit. The widow keeps coming to an unjust judge, pleading for help, and she refuses to faint. Jesus uses that picture to show that God is not like the unjust judge. God hears the cries of His people day and night. Prayer for the harvest must be consistent, even when the answer does not come right away.

Matthew 10 shows that prayer for laborers can become personal. The disciples pray that God would send somebody, and then Jesus sends them. Prayer must include the question, “Lord, do you want me to go?” Prayer must also be willing to say, “Lord, send my children, send somebody from this church, use the finances, and let every part have a place in missions.”

Prayer comes boldly before the throne of grace because God is able to do what seems impossible. The harvest is still white already to harvest. People in China, India, Panama, America, and all over the world still need the gospel. Missionaries need protection, wisdom, strength, churches planted, souls saved, and more laborers sent out.

Jesus ends Luke 18 by asking whether He will find faith on the earth when He comes. Continued prayer is part of faithful service until Christ returns. William Carey’s words give the picture: “I will go down, but remember that you must hold the rope.” Churches hold the rope when they pray. Missionaries may go down into difficult places, but prayer holds on when discouragement, danger, decisions, and spiritual battles come. The harvest is plenteous, the laborers are few, and prayer must not stop.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Pray for laborers, not only needs Jesus directs prayer toward the needs of the lost, not merely toward personal troubles. The multitude matters to Christ because they are scattered and without a shepherd. Prayer begins to change when God’s people ask Him to send help where the gospel has not gone. [48:13]
• 2. Persistent prayer refuses to faint The widow keeps coming because she will not quit before the judge. Prayer for missionaries, countries, and unreached people often requires spiritual endurance. Delayed answers do not mean that God has stopped hearing. [52:38]
• 3. Prayer may become a personal calling The disciples are told to pray for laborers, and then Jesus sends those same disciples. God may answer a prayer for somebody else by calling the person who is praying. Prayer for missions needs an open heart that asks, “Lord, do you want me to go?” [50:02]
• 4. Bold prayer trusts God’s ability God invites His people to come boldly unto the throne of grace. The need may look impossible, but God is capable of sending laborers and sustaining them in hard places. Prayer rests not in human resources, but in the Lord of the harvest. [54:27]
• 5. Churches hold the rope through prayer William Carey’s picture reminds missionaries that they do not go alone. Prayer holds the rope when missionaries face discouragement, danger, family pressures, and hard decisions. A church may not enter every field, but faithful prayer strengthens those who do.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [36:52] - Scripture Reading: Matthew 9 and Luke 18
• [40:41] - Don’t Stop Praying for the Harvest
• [41:46] - Jesus Sees the Multitude with Compassion
• [43:00] - The Widow Who Would Not Quit
• [45:29] - The Need for More Laborers
• [47:18] - The Command to Pray
• [49:10] - When Prayer Leads to Going
• [51:27] - The Consistency of Prayer
• [54:02] - Confidence Before God’s Throne
• [56:05] - Continuing Until Christ Returns
• [57:16] - Hold the Rope for Missionaries
• [59:32] - The Harvest Is Plenteous

Bible Reading

Matthew 9:36-38
“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.” [40:12]

Luke 18:1-8
“And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, 'In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, "Give me justice against my adversary." For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, "Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming." And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?” [40:41]

Matthew 10:1-5
“And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him. These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, 'Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans,” [49:24]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 9:36-38, what does Jesus see in the multitude, and what specific response does He command from His disciples? [48:03]
2. In Luke 18:1-8, what does the widow keep doing, and what does her continued coming reveal about her determination? [52:16]
3. How is the judge in Luke 18 described, and how is God shown to be different from that judge? [44:37]
4. What happens between Matthew 9, where the disciples are told to pray for laborers, and Matthew 10, where Jesus sends the disciples out? [50:02]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus sees people as sheep without a shepherd and then tells His disciples to pray for laborers. What does this connection show about why prayer for missions matters? [48:13]
2. Luke 18 teaches believers always to pray and not faint. How does the widow’s persistence help explain what faithful prayer looks like when the need remains unanswered for a long time? [52:38]
3. Jesus does not compare God to the unjust judge because God must be pressured into listening. What does the contrast teach about God’s character and the confidence believers can have when praying for the harvest? [54:02]
4. The disciples were told to pray for someone to be sent, and then they themselves were sent. Why should prayer for laborers include a willingness to ask whether God may be calling the person praying? [51:05]

Application questions

1. When personal needs, family concerns, or financial pressures fill prayer time, what could help make room to pray regularly for lost people and for laborers in the harvest? [48:14]
2. Is there a missionary, country, unreached people group, or church-planting need that has been prayed for only occasionally? What would it look like to pray for that need consistently rather than giving up when no immediate answer is seen? [53:39]
3. How can a family pray with an open heart about God using their children, grandchildren, finances, or future plans for the gospel? What fears make that prayer difficult? [46:24]
4. “Lord, do you want me to go?” is an honest part of praying for the harvest. What might keep someone from asking that question sincerely, and what would willing obedience look like if God answered differently than expected? [51:00]
5. Missionaries face discouragement, safety concerns, family pressures, difficult decisions, and spiritual battles. What specific requests from missionary prayer letters or reports could this group begin praying for by name? [57:32]
6. Churches hold the rope through prayer. What simple plan could help this group hold the rope faithfully—for example, choosing a missionary each week, sharing requests, or following up on answered prayers? [57:49]