Becoming the Answer to Your Own Prayer

"Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'"
Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)

Twelve-year-old Malachi Russell loved soccer more than anything. Then a cancer diagnosis changed everything. When doctors told his parents he had only seventeen months to live, most kids would have focused on themselves. Instead, Malachi wrote down seventeen names, one person for every month he was expected to live, and made them his mission field.

"The Lord has given me so many chances to share the gospel," he told his parents. "I'm going to take every chance I can. The world needs Jesus, and I want to step my game up because this cancer can kill me."

From his hospital bed to riding in the ambulance, and from doctor appointments to physical therapy sessions, Malachi shared his faith wherever he went. Even when cancer spread to his brain and left him in a wheelchair, he never stopped. When Malachi went to heaven, more than 100 people had given their lives to Jesus, including his own uncle.

Jesus sees the same opportunity Malachi saw. Everywhere He looks, He sees a harvest ready to be gathered. But there's a shortage of workers willing to do the gathering. What’s Jesus’ solution? He tells His disciples to pray for more workers.

Then, right after asking them to pray for workers, Jesus sends out those same disciples. He essentially says, "Boys, thank you for praying that prayer and thank you for being the answer to it."

You don't need seminary training or a special personality to have eyes of compassion. The word Jesus uses for "workers" refers to common, ordinary laborers, minimum-wage farm hands. What you need is a willing heart.

When you pray, "Lord, send workers into the harvest," be prepared for God to tap you on the shoulder. That struggling neighbor, stressed coworker, or lonely friend might be part of your personal harvest field.

Prayer: Father, I ask You to send workers into the harvest field around me. And Lord, if You can use me, here I am—send me. Give me courage to reach out to the people You've placed in my life who need Your love and hope.