We Go: Prayer - Go on Your Knees
Focus: Only through prayer will we see God do what only he is able to do.
Hands Up
Hold Out
For a Holy God
Hands Up
Prayer is our starting point.
What do I do in prayer?
How do I spend time with God?
“Gracious souls are never perfectly at ease except when they are in close communion with Christ; for when they are away from Him, they lose their peace. The nearer to Him, the nearer to the perfect calm of heaven; the nearer to Him, the fuller the heart is, not, only of peace, but of life and vigor and joy, for these all depend on constant fellowship with Jesus.”
-Charles Spurgeon
What springs from this is God’s call to mission.
Matthew 9:35-38 ESV
“And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
We need to pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest.
Jesus traveled to towns and villages to teach, preach, and heal, but it was not enough.
There was only so much one person could do.
The harvest demanded more workers.
The problem was a shortage of teachers, preachers, and healers, and the solution was to pray earnestly to the Lord for more laborers.
Samuel M. Zwemer was an American missionary and cofounder of the American Arabian Missions.
He was also one of the preeminent scholars and educators on the gospel mission to Muslims.
He is widely credited with saying, “"The history of missions is the history of answered prayer;... it is the key to the whole missionary problem. All human means are secondary."
So again, prayer is our starting point.
In verse 37 above, Jesus explains the two missional problems the church will always face: first, there is much work to be done (The harvest is plentiful"), and second, there are not enough people to do it (“the laborers are few”).
He then connects those challenges to the solution - prayer - using the word “therefore.”
The need presented in verse 37 calls for the response outlined in verse 38.
However, it is crucial to understand that:
“Prayer is not to be a substitute for labor: the disciples were to be reapers as well as praying men. But the work will not be done without prayer.”
-G.A. Buttrick
*Before we go, as we go, and when we arrive, we must pray earnestly to the Lord.
Paul confirmed the essential link between prayer and mission when he urged the Ephesian believers to:
Ephesians 6:19
“[pray] for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel".
Luke illustrated this truth in action at Antioch where church leaders, engaged in prayer and fasting, heard the Holy Spirit’s directive:
Acts 13:2
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them"
In the early church, prayer was the catalyst that propelled the mission forward.
Hold Out
Prayer is our power source.
We can trace all mission progress back to prevailing prayer.
*There is no way to fulfill God’s vision to advance or sustain the work of Christ without God filling all our activities in response to prayer.
That is why:
"the man who mobilizes the Christian church to pray will make the greatest contribution to world evangelization in history."
-quote often attributed to Andrew Murray
The early believers relied on prayer to prepare for their ministry to the world.
Acts 1:14
“All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer.”
Importantly, the Greek word translated devotion means diligence, effort that never lets up, and tireless perseverance.
The apostles’ bold preaching came after unified prayer.
Acts 4:23-31 ESV
“When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
Paul’s open doors for ministry depended on the prayers of God’s people.
Colossians 4:2-4 ESV
“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.”
John Wesley said:
"God does nothing but by prayer, and everything with it."
Wesley believed in prayer as a personal discipline and as the engine driving spiritual renewal and effective ministry.
His consistent prayer life demonstrated his conviction that human efforts in ministry without fervent prayer were ineffective.
Exodus 17:8-16 ESV
“Then Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose for us men, and go out and fight with Amalek. Tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the staff of God in my hand.” So Joshua did as Moses told him, and fought with Amalek, while Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword. Then the Lord said to Moses, “Write this as a memorial in a book and recite it in the ears of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the memory of Amalek from under heaven.” And Moses built an altar and called the name of it, The Lord Is My Banner, saying, “A hand upon the throne of the Lord! The Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”
We are in a fight of faith.
How many casualties have there been because of a lack of prayer in our lives?
“Whatever you don’t pray about in your life you leave up to chance. And that is not good enough when it comes to your marriage.”
-Stormie Omartian
And it is not just left to chance, it is left to the enemy who roams around like a roaring lion looking for whom he might devour.
1 Peter 5:5-11 ESV
“Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Leadership makes prayer a non-negotiable.
Acts 6:1-7 ESV
“Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them. And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.”
For a Holy God
Prayer is our daily provision.
In the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught his disciples to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11).
The request for bread reflects essential daily sustenance.
What is interesting is that in Luke's version of this prayer, Jesus urges us to ask God to "keep on giving day by day," and in Matthew's version, the request is for God to "give today."
Luke emphasizes the continuance of God's provision, and Matthew emphasizes the immediacy of his provision.
In our modern world, where food provision is usually planned and assured, such immediate dependence on bread seems remote from our experience.
But in Jesus' world, it was not so.
The precarious lifestyle of many first-century workers meant that a few days’ illness could spell tragedy, underscoring the urgency of trusting God daily.
Jesus’ ministry reinforced this lesson of dependence.
When he sent the twelve and seventy-two disciples (Luke 9:1-6, 10:1-11), he instructed them to trust God's provision.
In the account of Jesus feeding the 5,000 - the only one of his miracles recorded by all four gospel writers - prayer precedes the provision of bread and fish.
Similarly, ministry today presents new challenges daily, and prayer ensures we receive God's peace and provision for every situation (Philippians 4:6).
Just as God supplied manna daily to the
Israelites (Exodus 16:21), he provides the spiritual resources we need through prayer, sufficient for each day.
As E.M. Bounds said,
"Prayer is the contact of a living soul with God. Prayer fills man's emptiness with God's fullness. It fills man's poverty with God's riches. It puts away man's weakness with God's strength. "
*Without consistent prayer, ministry loses its spiritual vitality and effectiveness.
*Prayer is a daily necessity, not an optional supplement.
Through prayer, we receive wisdom, strength, and guidance, as Israel received daily manna from heaven.
This continuous act of seeking God equips us to meet our work’s spiritual and practical needs daily, avoiding burnout and ensuring fruitful service.
So what is our confidence in prayer?
The beauty is we have continued access to the throne of God because of Christ’s sinless life, substitutionary death on the cross and resurrection from the dead - all for our reconciliation with God and the forgiveness of our sins.
Hebrews 4:14-16 ESV
“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
As we repent of our sin and look to proclaim Jesus, we can access all of the forgiveness and resources of Heaven because of what Christ has done for us!
And so it becomes a joy to both remain in his presence through prayer and co-labor with him for the salvation of the world!