Jesus was the Master Teacher. He knew how to use the perfect illustration to effectively make His point. Once, when looking upon the multitudes, He made the following observation, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:37-38).

The harvest represents the souls of men and women who are lost in their sin and need to be gathered unto God. The laborers are those who go out and seek and save the lost. As the Lord considered the multitude, and the fate of their eternal souls, He lamented that there are not enough laborers to bring in this great and precious harvest. The instruction was for the disciples to pray for laborers to be sent into this harvest of lost souls.

Man has been given an important role to play in the saving of lost souls. The gospel is God's power to save (Rom. 1:16), but it is not spread directly by God or the Holy Spirit. It isn't even spread by angels. It is spread by men (Rom. 10:13-15; 1 Cor. 1:21; 2 Cor. 4:7). More laborers are needed to take the gospel to the lost. As disciples are won to the Lord, they are to be encouraged to join in the work of seeking and saving the lost.

This prayer is important, but it is no replacement for us rolling up our sleeves and getting involved in the work of seeking and saving the lost ourselves. If it is important enough that we pray for laborers, isn't it important enough that we be laboring? We need the attitude of Isaiah the prophet when he cried out, "Here am I! Send me" (Is. 6:8). After we pray for the lost, and for laborers to work in the harvest, we need to get up off of our knees and get busy spreading the gospel and encouraging people to obey the gospel.