When our Lord Jesus Christ looked upon the multitudes that followed Him, He did not merely see a crowd of people gathered around Him. He saw their true spiritual condition. Matthew tells us that He was “moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matthew 9:36). The people were weary, confused, and spiritually helpless. They needed guidance, truth, and salvation. Out of that compassionate observation came one of Christ’s most urgent appeals to His disciples.
In Matthew 9:37–38, 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.” In these words, our Lord reveals two great realities. First, there is a vast spiritual harvest. The world is filled with souls who need the Gospel and the shepherding ministry of God’s Word. Second, there is a serious, painful labour shortage. Having men called and sent by God to preach, teach, and care for souls is the greatest need of this world, that people may be brought under God’s truth to receive His salvation and guidance.
Our Lord’s first response to this urgent need was not strategy, organisation, or human ingenuity, but a call to earnest prayer to the Lord of the harvest, that He may raise up and send forth labourers. These words ought to lie heavily upon the heart of every church.
This is what the church desperately needs to hear again – a beckoning to pray for labourers in the ministry of the Word. If Christ commanded His disciples to pray for labourers, then surely the church in every age must give itself to prayer for pastor-teachers, evangelists or preachers of the Word, both in local congregations and in distant fields where the Gospel is little known. The ministry of the Word is central to the life, purity, growth, and mission of the church. Therefore, the church must be earnest, constant, and believing in prayer for those whom God has called to preach Christ.
Christ looked upon the crowd not as mere numbers, but as distressed and spiritually needy souls. The image of sheep without a shepherd is especially weighty – “…they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). It points to the need for spiritual guidance, doctrinal instruction, tender oversight, and saving truth. The church must therefore pray because human souls do not merely need relief from outward troubles; they need shepherds who will feed them with the truth of God.
Our Lord says, “The harvest truly is plenteous”. The problem is not that there is a lack of work in soul-gathering, or that God has no saving purpose in the world. The problem is that “the labourers are few”. Few are willing to spend and be spent in the work of the Gospel. Few endure hardship, study the Scriptures diligently, shepherd souls patiently, and proclaim the whole counsel of God without compromise. Therefore, Christ directs His disciples to prayer: “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest”. The harvest belongs to Him. The church belongs to Him. The ministers belong to Him. He alone can raise, equip, preserve, and send forth labourers.
This command teaches the church at least three things. First, ministers are a gift from Christ. They are not ultimately produced by seminaries, institutions, or ecclesiastical systems. Whatever good means may be used in training men, the call itself is divine. It is the Lord of the harvest who must send forth labourers. Second, the need for ministers is perpetual. Every generation requires faithful men to preach the Gospel afresh. Third, prayer for ministers is not optional. It is a plain duty laid upon the church by the Lord Himself.
