Psalm 126:5 (NLT) - “Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy.”

This may be too obvious, but just as the farmer must sow the seed to reap the harvest, we must proactively and intentionally sow the message of the gospel. No sowing of seeds, no crops. The crops are not going to just appear. Often we want to settle in our comfort zones when it comes to evangelism, but we must be intentional about sowing the seed in anticipation of the harvest. We need to recognize that evangelism takes hard work and we must be intentional about it.

“Be intentional. I often say, that which we intentionally ignore will unintentionally not get done! While true evangelism always depends on the Holy Spirit, sharing your faith does not happen by accident. It must be an intentional and conscious commitment of every Christian.” (Evangelism Is: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence, D. Earley and D. Wheeler)

Evangelism as “spiritual farming”
Plowing in prayer with the Father’s love
Planting seeds of the gospel of Christ
Trusting the Spirit’s timing and power
Being willing to do the work of harvesting (Luke 10.2)
[Adapted from D. Earley and D. Wheeler, Evangelism Is: How to Share Jesus with Passion and Confidence]

First, plowing in prayer is hard work!  To break hard, infertile ground is not easy. To battle in prayer, sow in tears for our friends and family who do not know Jesus is not glamorous, but so needed.

What would drive us to do this hard work of plowing in prayer? It’s the Father God’s love for the lost that compels us! He moves our hearts to pray. Today, if God is urging your heart to begin this hard work of plowing in prayer, let’s obey the Spirit and participate in the work that God has entrusted to us and wait in expectation of what He will do!

-DP