30 Days of Prayer for the Harvest

Day 2 – Tuesday, January 13, 2026

This is day 2 of our 30 days of concentrated prayer for a harvest of souls for Christ. Our theme verse is Luke 10:2, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Luke 10:2). (Click to see Day 1).

Today’s Devotional and Prayer

Read Matthew 9:35-38

³⁵ Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. ³⁶ But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. ³⁷ Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. ³⁸ “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

Yesterday, we looked at Jesus’ ministry to the lost in Matthew 9:35. Today, we see Jesus’ compassion for the lost in Matthew 9:36.

Jesus’ Compassion for the Lost.

Matthew 9:36 says, “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.”

What did Jesus see?

Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages ministering to people’s personal needs (Matt. 9:35). He went where they were. And He saw them. He saw the multitudes, but He always ministered to the individuals. Do we see the multitudes around us without Christ?

Jesus saw their spiritual condition, that “they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” What does it mean that they were “weary and scattered“? The NASB has “distressed and dispirited.” The ESV says, “harassed and helpless.” The KJV says, “they fainted, and were scattered abroad.” It literally means “torn and thrown down.”^[i]

They were “like sheep having no shepherd.” Those of us who are Christians know the Good Shepherd (John 10:14). He has been leading my life since I was a young man. I’ve known the blessing of His care, the provision from His supply, the correction from His love, and the bountiful forgiveness of my sin.

Think about your friends and family members who are without Christ, who don’t know Christ as the Good Shepherd. Do you see their spiritual condition?

What did Jesus feel?

Jesus “was moved with compassion” for them in their helpless state. The word translated here “moved with compassion” is the strongest word available to describe His feeling. The word is actually a reference to His stomach, bowels, and kidneys. We might say it hit Him in the pit of His stomach. It was a “gut-level” compassion.^[ii]

This is why He traveled throughout their cities and villages ministering to them—teaching them the truth of the Scriptures, proclaiming to them the good news of the kingdom of God, and healing them from every sickness and disease. The kingdom of God was at hand, He is the Messiah who came to redeem them from their sins.

If today, it is you who feel like the multitudes in Matthew 9, “weary and scattered,” torn and thrown down by sin and false religion, then to you, Jesus says to you, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28). Come to Jesus. He is full of compassion. He sees your wretched condition. He feels your pain. He will save you from sin and all its consequences because He is the Lord, the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep (John 10:11,18). He gave up His life on the cross and took it up again in His resurrection. His blood atoned for sin, and His resurrection conquered death—once for all. Repent and believe in Him today. He will set you free and give you life, eternal life, abundant life (John 10:10).

And for those of us who have already been saved, what does this verse say to us? It speaks to us about how we see people and feel about their condition. What do you feel when you see people trapped in sin? What goes through your mind when you see people suffering from the immorality of our society? Is your heart full of compassion like Jesus?

Jesus did not see helpless sinners as the enemy and neither should we. We should see them as helpless sheep who need the Good Shepherd. People need the Savior. They need the Lord Jesus

Today’s Prayer

Could you pray something like this? (Please take time to make the prayer your own. This is just an outline or model; the prayer needs to be yours. Pray as long as needed to see God work in your heart).

Lord, I want to see people as you see them, weary and scattered, harrassed and helpless, without a shepherd. I want to see them without judgment, without writing them off, but only as you see them.

I have friends and family members that I love deeply. Some of them don’t know You, don’t follow You, because they don’t know You as the Good Shepherd.

Give me the spiritual eyes to see their condition and allow that to drive me further into prayer that they may come to know you, one by one, and use me to reach them.