“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘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.’” + Matthew 9v36-38
A simplistic definition of a Calvinist is someone who trusts the sovereignty of God in every area of life, including salvation. Calvinism springs from the heart of Jesus and jumps off the pages of Scripture. I am an unapologetic Calvinist. I have no bones about it.
The most typical push-back that is lobbed at me is this: “If God is sovereign over everything, then why does it matter what we do?” Look no further than the words of Jesus here in Matthew 9. Jesus looks out on the crowds of helpless people and He sees their need. He then turns to his disciples and tells them to pray that God would send people to shepherd these people. Jesus doesn’t say, “Do what you want, God will take care of it.” Nope; Jesus tells his disciples to act. What we do matters because the way that God primarily acts in the world is through the means of His people. God works through means. That gives resounding importance to our responsibility. The sovereign Lord of the universe works His sovereign will through the actions of his people. Since this is the case, I see nothing more important than what we do.
There are two big things in this passage. First, we see that God’s sovereign will comes about first through the prayers of His people. It is a wonderful mystery that God has chosen to work through the prayers of His people. Our praying matters because it is a part of God’s sovereign will in His plan for the universe. Remember, Jesus didn’t say, “God is the Lord of the harvest, so no need to pray.” No! He said, “Pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest…”
Second, the result of our prayer is answered prayer. Through our prayers for God to raise up workers to go into the harvest, God raises up workers to go into the harvest. Our prayers are a means of God to bring about the means of salvation to all people.
Whether you are a Calvinist or not, prayer, by nature, is Calvinistic, because prayer is petitioning God to act. When you pray, you are admitting to God that you don’t have the power or the ability on your own. When you pray, “God please save my loved one,” you are asking God to sovereignly override your loved one’s will, or to change your loved one’s will. When you pray, you are bowing the knee to sovereignty and acknowledging that God is the Lord of the harvest. Every Arminian becomes a Calvinist when he prays.
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