If you’re around someone from the CEEC.CHURCH’s International Commission on World Missions at 9:38 am on any given day, you’re likely to hear their phone alarm begin to go off. Loudly. Often this will interrupt a meeting or a phone call. If you happen to be among a group of three or four of us, the look on people’s faces can get really interesting when several alarms go off at once.
Why 9:38 am, you ask?
It’s really quite simple. Just a tactic to remember (and to share) a reminder that every believer is commanded to pray for something very, very specific. And the command is found in Matthew 9:38.
As Matthew relates the story, Jesus is standing in the fields outside of a Samaritan village. He sees the multitudes, and has compassion upon them. They’re beleaguered, weary and without hope. So Jesus turns to His disciples and in verse 37 He says, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” Then He issues His command in Matt 9:38:
“Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. “
It is truly a simple action. It can take less than a minute or extend for several minutes, depending upon how much time you have on any given day. Jesus invites us to participate in the harvest by praying for the Lord of the Harvest to thrust forth laborers.
Look around. Hopeless people are being overwhelmed by the cares of the world everywhere you look. From the busy executive escaping into a bottle of whiskey to homeless people who no longer have anywhere to go to escape – the people Jesus saw around him are still there. The location is different – but the need is the same. People need Jesus. And the disciples who are hearing His command need to be praying for workers to be sent out to the harvest field.
We know what the apostles did. They dedicated their lives to bringing the message of the Gospel to the ends of the earth. They heard the cry and stepped up to meet the need. The question is what will WE do?
Or – more to the point – what will YOU do? Tomorrow morning 9:38am will come to your world. How will you respond?
Will you set an alarm on YOUR phone or computer to remind you to stop for a moment and pray ?
Every time the 9:38 alarm has gone off while I’m with other believers, I’ve been able to share this story. Then I’ve been able to invite the to join me in prayer. Every time – the answer has been “Yes!” I’ve never gotten a “No” yet. After we pray, I invite them to set their own alarm.
Join the 9:38 Alarm Army. Set your alarm. Do it NOW.
Forward this post to your friends who know Jesus and encourage them to set an alarm. Post this challenge on your Facebook.
Then, tomorrow morning, pray for the Lord to send workers into the harvest. You’ll be amazed at how aware you’ll become of the need for the workers, and how tender your heart will become to the task.
It’s Your Life.
Don’t miss it.