Men of the Morning Prayer Line

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” -Matthew 9:37 Why is prayer important? In a world where more than 4.5 billion people are without Christ and more than a billion are on the edge of starvation, we have to begin somewhere. So where? Jesus answers that question for us. In Matthew 9 we see him surrounded by the multitudes and moved with compassion because they were “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” So he turned to his disciples and said, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” Do these words surprise you? They do me… for two reasons. First, in light of all the sick, poor, and needy around Jesus I would have expected him to immediately start giving marching orders to his disciples. “Peter, you go to that person. John, you care for that guy. Andrew, you help her over there.” But that’s not what he said. Before he told them to d...

 “Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.” – Luke 17:11-19 One foggy night, many years ago, there was a near-tragedy on a large lake.  An explosion occurred and a fire erupted on a houseboat filled with intoxicated people. It was utter chaos. Fortunately, there was a resident on the shore who could see what was happening....