Jesus said in Matthew 9:37, “The harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few.” After saying that there are a few who are reaching out to the multitudes who are lost and perishing, we expect him to command his disciples to go and preach the good news to as many people as they can. Instead he said in the next verse, “Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Why does Jesus want us to respond in prayer this way? John MacArthur comments:
It is interesting and significant that Jesus did not command the disciples to pray for the lost, although that is certainly appropriate (cf. 1 Tim. 2:1–8). Their first prayer was to be for “the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”
It is possible to pray regularly for the salvation of a loved one, a neighbor, a friend, or a fellow employee and to let our concern stop with our prayer. But when we earnestly pray for the Lord to send someone to those unsaved people, we cannot help becoming open to being that someone ourselves. It is possible to pray for someone’s salvation while keeping them at arm’s length. But when we sincerely “beseech the Lord” to send someone to witness to them, we place ourselves at His disposal to become one of His workers in that ministry.
Are we ready to pray in this way and “place ourselves at His disposal to become one of His workers in that ministry”?
Get Ready for the Harvest
Matthew 9:35-38 March 28, 2010 Download pdf | Download mp3
Treasuring Christ PH 
Nice insight from Dr. John MacArthur. I will be praying for God to send workers to those whom I desire to be saved.
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