Miriam Thurlow Writes:

What’s your brave prayer for this season?

I have kept being drawn to Matthew 9:37-38 recently: ‘37Then he said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.”

This is a familiar verse to many of us, but often we just look at what Jesus says in v37 about the harvest being ripe and the labourers few, and not always at v38. But Jesus follows His observation with an instruction: ask the Lord to send out workers into his field. I have read these two verses many times, but two things have stood out for me recently.

Firstly, God tells us to ask Him to provide for our need, and it’s a specific need. We often strive to find solutions in our own strength, but have we first asked God. Secondly, it is His harvest and not ours.

God tells us on numerous occasions in the Bible to ask him for provision. But sometimes I think we fall into just asking for our general needs and not for specific needs. Perhaps it’s because we are British! Or perhaps we’re afraid He won’t come through. For whatever reason, sometimes we don’t remember to ask God to send the workers and provision we need.

What if God is calling us to be braver in what we ask for in this season?

What is your brave prayer for this season? For yourself, and your own relationship with Jesus? For the places and communities you belong to? For our Network? For our town? Where do you see the harvest ripening but there doesn’t seem to be the workers? Where are you asking the Lord of the Harvest to send out workers to, so that His harvest might be abundant?