“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Matthew 9:37-38)

Jesus’ response to the overwhelming need of the multitude that He and His disciples encountered in Matthew 9 is instructive:

— Jesus did NOT say: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few … so work harder!”

— Nor did He say: “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few, so go out and recruit more people.”

Instead He said, “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

We should take note that the direction Jesus gave to His disciples was NOT to “work harder”, but to PRAY harder!  He commanded them to seek from God in prayer the resources they needed.

This should not be taken as precluding effort on the part of His disciples. We should indeed minister, as part of the answer to our own prayer.  But surely it is significant that Jesus told His disciples to PRAY.  Perhaps we should take notice?