Melt the clouds of sin and sadness
‘May it be unto me according to your word.” Luke 1:38
May God, who seeth all things, and who is the Ruler of all spirits and the Lord of all flesh—who chose our Lord Jesus Christ and us through Him to be a peculiar people—grant to every soul that calleth upon His glorious and holy Name, faith, peace, patience, long-suffering, self-control, purity, and sobriety, to the well-pleasing of His Name, through our High Priest and Protector, Jesus Christ, by whom be to Him glory, and majesty, and power, and honour, both now and forevermore. Amen.
—Clement of Rome born around 35 AD a successor of St. Peter.
(possibly mentioned in Philippians 4:3)
Jesus in Luke chapter 10 verse 2 directs us to pray for this:
“And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” The verse is clear. There’s a lot of harvest out here. That’s not the issue. The issue is the lack of laborers–people willing to take up the task of being “fishers for men” as Jesus put it when he first called the disciples. Women who are willing like Mary, the Mother of Christ. And so what are we to do? We are to pray. We are to pray that God would stir in peoples hearts a compassion and conviction to feed the flock of God.
You might say Charity what do I feed them?
Feed them Christ.
And then pray to become a Christ-centered preacher and for Christ centered preaching. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst” in John 6:35. This bread theme continues in John 6:48, where Jesus says, “I am that bread of life” and in John 6:51, Jesus says, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”
Pray for the Shepherds to feed the sheep the good news about Jesus. Feed them the bread of heaven.
We have prayed. You have prayed. And the Lord of the harvest will answer. A church feasting on Jesus blood and body will have strength for true service. A win for one is a win for all.
O God of unchangeable power and eternal light, look favourably on Thy whole Church, that wonderful and sacred mystery; and by the tranquil operation of Thy perpetual providence, carry out the work of man’s salvation; let the whole world feel and see that things which were cast down are being raised up, that those which had grown old are being made new, and that all things are returning to perfection; through Him from Whom they took their origin, even Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord. Amen.
—Gelasian Sacramentary written in the 7th Century.
TAKE THIS TIME TO PRAY.
Pray by name for those called to harvest, missions, or teaching. Pray they preach the availability of repentance and cleansing found in the blood of Jesus, to all captive by sin. Pray the message is accompanied with the power of God to turn all who believe from the blackened charcoal of burnout to become white as snow. Pray all boasting would be in the Lord and forgiveness falls from the heavens like the latter rain. Pray they practice peace with godliness rather than jealousy with strife. Pray their lips never out honor their hearts for the Lord. Pray for steadfast marriages. Pray that the poor don’t groan under their watch. pray they obtain a good report for their work. Pray the eyes of the Lord are over them, and His ears are turned to their prayers.
