30 Days of Prayer for the Harvest
Day 3 – Wednesday, January 14, 2026
This is day 3 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, Day2).
On day 1, we looked at Jesus’ ministry to the lost in Matthew 9:35. Day 2, we saw Jesus’ compassion for the lost in Matthew 9:36. Today we consider …
Today’s Devotional: Jesus’ Call to Prayer for the Lost
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.”
Jesus saw the crowds. He felt compassion for them, because they were as sheep without a shepherd. Then Matthew 9:37-38 says,
“Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’”
The Harvest Is Plentiful
When Jesus saw the weary and scattered multitudes as sheep without a shepherd, He saw the harvest. Jesus envisions a vast crop of ripe grain in need of harvesters.
Why does Jesus talk about a harvest? The Bible often uses the harvest as a picture of judgment[1] (See Isaiah 17:5,11; Joel 3:12-14; Matthew 3:12; 13:40). Jesus sees the final judgment and calls laborers because the time is short, the need is great, and the consequences are eternal. “He preached to them and He healed them, because of His compassion, their condition, and the ultimate consummation.”[2]
This is no time to be idle. If we love Jesus and His kingdom’s cause, we should all be gripped with a sense of the urgency of the work that lies before us. In John 4:35 Jesus sees the harvest field as so ripe that the laborers must act quickly to harvest it, “Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”
The Workers are Few
We see a lost and dying world that is entrapped in sin, and the people in it are bruised and battered by sin and its effects. They are confused and lost without hope. The majority of them will die in that condition, but there are some that are responding to God’s call, and workers are needed to lead them to Jesus Christ. The lostness of the world without Christ is overwhelming.
The need is vast. It’s beyond our human capabilities. That’s why Jesus said, “Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” (Matt. 9:38). He calls us to pray. The task of evangelism seems so huge that my prayers and efforts feel so small. Glimpsing the harvest field through the eyes of Jesus should cause you to be desperate for more laborers and desperate to be involved yourself.
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, give me spiritual eyes to see the harvest that is around me right here in my little corner of the world.
Give New Covenant Baptist Church the eyes to see the harvest field around us, and to get out of our comfort zone and into the harvest field.
Lord, raise up more workers who will labor along side me in the harvest field. I ask your blessing upon all the faithful Christians and Churches that are laboring in this field. May we work together in Christ’s love and truth to help bring more people to faith in Christ.
Give me confidence to share my faith that I may bring more workers into the harvest field. Send me today.
Today’s Action
If you haven’t yet made a list of friends and family members to pray for, do it today. Build list of people you know who: need Christ, are seekers, or are believers without a church. Pray for them daily by name. Look for an opportunity to speak with them.
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[1] John MacArthur, The Harvest and the Laborers. https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/2269
[2] MacArthur, ibid.
