The last four verses of Matthew 9 speak volumes. Here’s verse 37 & 38.
verse 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few;
verse 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few: This may or may not stir our hearts. One one hand, for some, the contrast between plentiful and few means there is a great and good work to be done. On the other hand, for some, this is too much to ask because of timidity or being uncaring.
therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest: They key word is earnestly. These are most of the cross-references in the New Testament. The word appears more than we would think it would. You might be surprised at how God feels about being earnest. Mark 5:10 & 5:23, Luke 7:4 & 10:2 & 22:15 & 22:44, Acts 12:5 & 26:7, 1 Corinthians 12:31 & 14:1 & 14:39, 2 Corinthians 7:11-12 & 8:4 & 8:7-8 & 8:16-17, & 8:22, 1 Thessalonians 3:10, 2 Timothy 1:17, Hebrews 6:11 & 13:19, 1 Peter 1:22 & 4:8.
to send out laborers into his harvest: You may not see yourself in these two verses. But, then again, we may not see things as God see things. The love with which God loves us should stir our hearts to speak to those who are who are not saved, who are under the wrath of God, who will be in torment in hell for eternity.
These are a couple of good verses to pray over and memorize and wrestle with.
The Men's Bible Reading Idea 