Praying For Labourers

By Zacharias T. Fomum

    "Therefore said [Jesus] unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He would send forth labourers into His harvest" (Luke 10:2).

    God has one answer to the shortage of labourers. That answer is prayer to the Lord of the harvest. …Because there are so few in the church whose hearts are pure and consecrated, the task of praying for labourers must remain the work of the very few.

    ...Make yourself available to the Lord. Formally tell Him, "Lord, here I am. I am prepared to go into Your harvest. I place myself at Your disposal. I am prepared to be a ‘going,’ ‘praying’ or ‘giving’ labourer. Show me where You have placed me." He will show you. He hears and He answers and He will show you.

    If He makes you a "going" labourer, accept it with gratitude and ask Him what you should do in order to prepare to go. Also ask Him where He wants you to go. As you prepare and as you go, you have the responsibility to pray not only for yourself and the field to which He is sending you but also to pray that other labourers would be found for other fields. When you get to your field of service, continue to pray that the Lord would send forth labourers into His harvest.

    If He makes you a "praying" labourer you must give yourself in a more definite way to praying, both for more labourers and for those labourers who are already on the field. Wait before the Lord and receive instructions from Him as to how you are to pray. He may want you to invest your life in praying for an unreached tribe or people. Concentrate mainly on that. Block those people from self-appointed or man-appointed labourers who might rush there and destroy the harvest. Plead that God would act quickly and prepare and send His own labourers there.

    Pray that would-be labourers who are still bound by sin or the love of the world would be released from these and made ready for appointment by God. Plead with God to release labourers who are being blocked from being made available by parents, relatives or social systems. Plead with God to move governments that make entry difficult. Pray that God would touch the hearts to whom the labourers are ministering and will be ministering. Pray that there would be a revelation of Christ and a revelation of His Word. Pray that young converts would desire the sincere milk of the Word and that they would grow.

    Pray also that "giving" labourers will be raised. Pray that the Lord would protect the hearts of the "giving" labourers from the love of money. Pray that the Lord would bless their resources so that they will have more to give. Protect the resources of the "giving" labourers from attack by the wicked one. Plead with God that He would multiply the resources and make them enough for the work.

    If you are a "praying" labourer you are not exempted from giving sacrificially and not exempted from "going" within the limits that God has sent you.

    We live on the eve of Christ’s return. There is still so much that must be done. May the people of God arise, put all sin and all worldliness aside and consecrate themselves totally to the Lord and thereby qualify as labourers so that God will have millions to go, pray and give and then the task will soon be finished and the Lord Jesus will come. Amen.

   – Taken from With Christ In The School And Ministry Of Praying by Zacharias Tanee Fomum. Copyright © 1992 by Zacharias Tanee Fomum. Used by permission.