I remember reading an article many years ago of a small group of missionaries. They had worked for years in Japan without much fruit. They then decided to change how they were praying. They began to pray that the harvest was plentiful.
In their prayers, they began to see and believe the Scripture as true. They then spoke of a dramatic shift in their ministry. More and more people started coming to the Lord. Their spirits were expectant, not in drudgery.
What if we prayed like that?
Think of it for a minute. If we believe the harvest is barely ripe, only a few being ready, then we will act accordingly. We will be easily discouraged when someone does not come to the Lord. We will not project expectancy. We will work but not hard because the harvest isn’t ripe.
Compare that to if you believe the harvest is ripe. I have many farming friends and when it is harvest, they work from 4 am to midnight for weeks until the harvest is in. There is a huge urgency when the harvest is ripe because it doesn’t last forever.
Jesus says the harvest is ripe. What would it be like if we thought and positioned ourselves in such a way as to believe his words? We would go, as it would be urgent. We would be less discouraged when we are working. And just perhaps because we believe the harvest is ripe, we would open our eyes to the ripeness of the harvest and act accordingly.
It’s about expectancy. What are we expecting? Hard soil? Or a ripe harvest, as Jesus says.