Originally published Monday, 20 April 2015.
10:02. I have an special alarm set on my phone for 10:02 each morning.
And he said to them, “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." Luke 10:2
And, every day, I am stopped at 10:02am because of Luke 10:2. I recognize again the truth of it all: He alone is the Lord of the Harvest, and we are told to ask Him to send more workers.
I've been doing this for a couple months now. It may be a selfish practice - after all, (in our human minds) the ministry of The Bridge needs more committed, full-time people in order to carry out the work we believe He's set before us. There are fields ready for harvest. Sometimes I picture the fields rolling out, on and on, to the horizon and maybe beyond. Yet, they are nearly empty of workers. His words are still true: the laborers are few.
Even more importantly, 10:02am is a daily call to surrender. After all, I must acknowledge Him as Lord over all, the only authority of this harvest – which is, in fact, HIS harvest.
Yet, He asks us to pray. He asks us to pray earnestly. God, who is completely capable of managing His own harvest with but a mere word, invites us to participate in the holy work. "Therefore pray earnestly..."
In those words, He holds up an opportunity for our obedience.
So, I pray. Lord, please send more. Lord, please move in your people to respond with "yes” – whether that is in this community or across the world. Please send more people to the fields.
Maybe you'll join in– daily at 10:02am or right now or however you deem appropriate.
But, just as a fair warning - as you pray, your heart may be affected, if not already.
You’ll inevitably start thinking about the harvest. You’ll start noticing the white fields. You may think about them more than ever, actually.
Pray on.
It may mess with your day and your priorities a little, as you recognize anew the spiritual and physical needs around you.
Pray on.
You may start noticing the ways you could step further onto that field - the one right under your feet, the one you can’t seem to get out of your mind. Your trust in God may just increase and increase, as you see Him meeting your needs each time you take a step.
Pray on.
And, one day, you may find your heart responding, your hands laboring, your back breaking – but it's then you’ll realize that it’s been you all along...
It's been you that you were praying for all this time.
You’ve been sent out. The mission field slipped in under your feet, and you are laboring in a white field. Hallelujah.
Maybe this is why He invites us, commands us, to pray. Maybe it's our own hearts at stake. Maybe it's our life purpose and calling, just waiting...
So, pray on.
John 4:35 “Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest?' Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest."
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