Dan Britton on Matthew 9:38 and Praying to Send More Workers to the Harvest

“So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.”— Matthew 9:38

Last month, through the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, I gathered with hundreds of sports ministry leaders from 95 countries to partner, prepare and plan. It was an amazing experience to worship with men and women from around the world and hear what God is doing in their cities and communities. God touched my heart with a fresh perspective of new ways of ministry as we seek to engage, equip and empower coaches and athletes around the world.

During the first morning of the conference, something strange happened. At 9:38 a.m., buzzing and vibrating phone alarms went off throughout the room. Suddenly, the presenter stopped talking and said, “Let’s pray for God to send more workers into the harvest.” After a short but powerful prayer, the conference continued. All week, the same thing occurred at 9:38 a.m. It didn’t matter where I was or what I was doing—in the middle of a discussion, Starbucks line or small group. We stopped what we were doing and prayed for more workers.

I quickly learned that everyone was praying the words of Matthew 9:38, and because I am not the sharpest tool in the shed, it took me a few days to connect the dots that the time was the same number of the verse we were praying. When I finally figured it out, I was fired up! What a simple yet strategic way to engage people in responding to the Lord’s invitation to join Him by praying for more workers. I thought: “I can do this!”

Unfortunately, we make prayer way too complicated, and we don’t pray how the Lord teaches us. He doesn’t say to pray for the ripe fields or even for the lost souls. He wants us to pray for more workers. He wants us to pray for more people to respond to the call to go. It is a subtle nuance, but it makes a gigantic difference in how we pray.

PRAY/9:38 is a prayer initiative to mobilize staff and volunteers throughout FCA to pray for God to send more workers into the world of sport to make disciples. Each day, join us by setting your alarm for 9:38 a.m. or 9:38 p.m. When the alarm goes off, stop and pray the words in Matthew 9:38 so that God will send more workers into the fields. Below is a suggested prayer you could use, but the goal is for you to simply pray daily Matthew 9:38. I can do this! You can do this! We can do this!

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SOURCE: Christian Post, Dan Britton