Let Isaac spur us on to prayer

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefor pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

Can I admit something to you?  I don't pray as I should.  I read and I study and I think, but the ratio of reading/studying/thinking to praying is way out of whack.  This became clear to me this morning as I was getting ready to write this week's blog.  We are in Louisiana and life in Louisiana often involves hurricanes.  I've watched Isaac closely over the last few days and over the last few hours, it seems likely that Isaac is headed for New Orleans.

I was a Louisiana resident 7 years ago and I remember Katrina and the devastation she caused.  Now, it seems very unlikely that Isaac will be a storm of the same magnitude as Katrina, but even "weak" hurricanes can cause major damage.  I've recently began to learn about the work of ministers and church planters in the New Orleans area and how devastated they were by Katrina.  This past week I heard from Dennis Watson of Celebration Church and he spoke of his depression immediately after the storm.  Similar comments were made by Southern Baptist Convention president and New Orleans pastor Fred Luter.  These men have poured themselves out in the the city and for the people.  The morning after Katrina, it appeared as if much of their work had been washed away by the storm.

We know, though, that the work of a pastor and planter is not one of mortar and brick, but of discipleship, prayer, and people.  Katrina may have destroyed buildings, but we know that that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Christ Jesus.  Circumstances, however dire and formidable, cannot stop the work of God.  In the days following the storm, Dennis Watson and Fred Luter began to see what the Lord was doing through the storm as the people they had invested in girded them up and encouraged them to get back to the vital work of ministry in a city that was more in need than ever before.

This morning as I looked through facebook and twitter, I saw pastors caring for a people that are likely to evacuate and be dispersed.  Pastors from Vintage Church, Mosaic, and Harbor NOLA are urging their people to keep them updated on where they'll be.  As I read post after post from these men, I began to feel a burden to pray for them.  And I think that we should.  We have some folks who have already moved down in anticipation of the plant and I have been in prayer for them.  I urge you to pray for pastors and planters in the path of the storm.  I also urge you to pray for their congregations and the lost of the city.

What struck me though is that I should already be praying for these folks.  It shouldn't take a hurricane to spur me on to support our brothers and sisters in Christ who have been sent out as laborers into His harvest.

So, as Isaac bears down on New Orleans, let us commit to pray for the people there, but let us not stop on Thursday when Isaac is somewhere in Arkansas.  May we continue to pray for the Lord's will be done in New Orleans and all over the world.  May the Lord send workers into the harvest, and may our prayer be, "Here am I Lord, send me."

Soli Deo Gloria