PRAYING FOR LABORERS WHEN WE CAN'T DO IT ALONE

PRAYING FOR LABORERS WHEN WE CAN’T DO IT ALONE

We see family members and friends who are hurting. We try to help the best we can, but sometimes it seems people just can’t receive it from us. It happened to Jesus too. He went to Nazareth where He grew up, but “He did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58). They only knew Him as the carpenter’s son, not the spiritually empowered guy He was now! Same with us. God in His foreknowledge already anticipated this scenario and provided a solution. There is always something we can do when we see hurting people, whether family, friends or people we don’t even know.

Jesus explains it in Matthew 9:33-10:5. In verse 33 we see Jesus casting out a demon. In verse 35 we’re told He was “healing every sickness and every disease among the people.” Verse 36 tells us when He saw the multitudes, His heart went out to them. We all have these feelings of compassion and love toward friends and relatives, and others too. We want to do something but we don’t know exactly what to do.

Jesus said: “The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (v.37-38).

Jesus said: “Pray for laborers.” He wasn’t being wishy-washy when He said this. It was a direct assignment. He was stating the facts: There are hurting people who need help and you can’t do it all, so pray to our God that He would send others too, to help His children!

It’s not like God doesn’t already know the problems and couldn’t fix them all on His own, but it’s not His way. He wants us, as His children, to be involved; to see our part as belonging to a bigger family on earth. It’s the best brotherhood and sisterhood there’s ever been. First Corinthians 3:9 tells us: “For we are labourers together with God.”

We are on assignment with God, to reach out to God’s children all over the world.

We know that we can’t all be in Kenya; we can’t all be in Pakistan or even New Jersey, but by prayer, we are involved in the way Jesus told us we must be, but specifically asking God to send laborers to those places we are not. In that way, we reach out to God’s children everywhere.

Jesus showed them how it works: “And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. These twelve Jesus sent forth” (Matt 10:1 and 5). He is still sending forth laborers.

Jesus didn’t say: “Schedule more meetings for me.” He didn’t say: “I have to do it myself.” The Savior of the world, when He was here on earth, in the flesh, didn’t rely on Himself to deliver and heal everyone.

Luke 10 tells us Jesus sent out 70 others to help minister as well: “The Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them two by two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself would come.” Jesus gave them the same command to pray for more laborers: “He said unto them, ‘The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. And heal the sick that are there” (Luke 10:1-2, 9).

There were even other laborers who believed and acted on the words of Jesus. The disciples didn’t even know them: “And John answered him, saying, ‘Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us; and we forbade him, because he followeth not us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Forbid him not; for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is on our part’” (Mark 9:38-40).

As wonderful and powerful as He was, when Jesus was looking with love and compassion on the hurting people right there in front of Him, He couldn’t help them all. When we see the people close to us hurting, and others around the world, our hearts go out to them too. But we can’t help everyone and there’s no need to feel bad about not being able to help someone close to us. If Jesus couldn’t heal everyone close to Him, why do we think we have to?

But Jesus showed us a way to help them anyway.  

He showed us we are to pray for another Christ-inspired person to step in. What a wonderful and powerful thing to know and what a sense of assurance it gives us. There’s never any guilt when it comes to love. We can always help in some way.

We don’t respond to everyone in the same way and neither do our loved ones. Sometimes they’ll listen to someone who says the same thing we say, but when it comes from someone else it just works. But to get mad or disappointed is not the right way for us to react.

We can pray and expect the Lord to send someone who our friends and loved ones will listen to. We can also pray for angels to intervene in the situation or even the Lord Himself. And we can also pray 2 Timothy 2:24 that says pray for someone to “awake themselves out of the snare of the devil.”

So don’t be discouraged if you feel somewhat helpless at times. You are always important to God and to the rest of us in His family. We are commissioned by Jesus Himself to pray for God to send other laborers in to help. Jesus commands that we see ourselves as part of a bigger body of God’s children. When we can’t do it, God will see to it.

Be encouraged; there’s power in prayer.

Love, Carolyn

QUESTIONS AND EASY CHALLENGES

1. Do you ever feel like you’ve been treated like Jesus when He went to His hometown, Nazareth?

2. Did Jesus rely solely on Himself to heal people? Cite at least one scripture showing that He gave that privilege to others.

3. When you can’t do the ministering yourself, what type of prayer can you pray? Back that up with scripture.

4. Did Jesus suggest we pray for laborers, or did he give it as a command? Why?