THE KEY TO THE MASTER'S ORDERS
Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth labourers into His harvest.
~Matthew 9:38
The key to the missionary problem is in the hand of God, and that key
is prayer not work, that is, not work as the word is popularly
understood to-day because that may mean the evasion of concentration
on God. The key to the missionary problem is not the key of common
sense, nor the medical key, nor the key of civilization or education
or even evangelization. The key is prayer. "Pray ye therefore the
Lord of the harvest." Naturally, prayer is not practical, it is
absurd; we have to realize that prayer is stupid from the ordinary
common-sense point of view.
There are no nations in Jesus Christ's outlook, but the world. How
many of us pray with out respect of persons, and with respect to only
one Person, Jesus Christ? He owns the harvest that is produced by
distress and conviction of sin, and this is the harvest we have to
pray that labourers may be thrust out to reap. We are taken up with
active work while people all round are ripe to harvest, and we do not
reap one of them, but waste our Lord's time in over-energized
activities. Suppose the crisis comes in your father's life, in your
brother's life, are you there as a labourer to reap the harvest for
Jesus Christ? "Oh, but I have a special work to do!" No Christian has
a special work to do. A Christian is called to be Jesus Christ's own,
one who is not above his Master, one who does not dictate to Jesus
Christ what he intends to do. Our Lord calls to no special work: He
calls to Himself. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest," and He
will engineer circumstances and thrust you out.
~ October 16 Reading from My Upmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers