THREE DAYS OF PRAYER AND FASTING
September 2025
Matthew 9:35-10:15
9:35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
10:1 And he called to him his twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every affliction. 2 The names of the twelve apostles are these: first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother; James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother; 3 Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; 4 Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ 8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. 9 Acquire no gold or silver or copper for your belts, 10 no bag for your journey, or two tunics or sandals or a staff, for the laborer deserves his food. 11 And whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy in it and stay there until you depart. 12 As you enter the house, greet it. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 And if anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet when you leave that house or town. 15 Truly, I say to you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.
DAY ONE: LOVING GOD
Reflect:
It says in verse 36, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” This metaphor of a shepherd has rich layers through Scripture. The kings that God had appointed to “shepherd” His people Israel had all fallen short, and in Ezekiel 34, God passionately denounced the shepherd-kings of Israel for not feeding their flock, but instead gorging themselves upon the fat sheep and clothing themselves with their wool. God said, “the weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts” (Ezek. 34: 2-5). Then, God made a bracing, breath-taking promise, “Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered… And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines … I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down… I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak” (Ezek. 34:11-16). This promised is fulfilled in the coming of Jesus, who is the Son of God who has taken on human flesh.
Sheep are famously helpless without shepherds. They don’t have a good sense of direction. They’re not like cats and dogs that can find their own way around, sheep often get lost and wander around, and cannot reliably find their way back to pasture. They are also naturally defenseless. They don’t have sharp teeth or claws, and they don’t have the ability to camouflage and hide themselves, and they can’t run away very fast. Sheep are also easily spooked and can bolt blindly into danger, sometimes even running off cliffs. For all these reasons, sheep are especially vulnerable animals that desperately need the guidance and protection of a shepherd. Isn’t this a true assessment of what we were all like before Jesus found us? But thanks be to God! Our good shepherd is not indifferent to our plight. Jesus has “compassion” for the lost sheep. That’s a word that means to “have pity” or “feel sympathy” for someone when you see the need or plight of another. That’s what Jesus feels for the lost and scattered sheep of Israel, and as our “good shepherd,” He “[laid] down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Recommended Song:
“Savior Like A Shepherd Lead Us” by Leigh Nash (Find it on our church’s Spotify playlist, “Trinity Hymnal,” at http://bit.do/trinityhymnal)
Pray:
- Thank God for all the ways that He has had compassion for you throughout your life, and especially for sending Jesus to save you.
- Acknowledge the areas of your life where you feel harassed and/or helpless, and ask God to intervene and help you.
- Ask God to change you to be more compassionate and merciful toward others.
DAY TWO: LOVING ONE ANOTHER
Reflect:
There are several interesting features of the list of the twelve apostles in 10:1-4. Four out of twelve, Peter, Andrew, James, and John are fishermen. It is no wonder, then, that later in Acts 4:13, the Jewish intelligentsia and religious elites observe Peter and John boldly preaching the gospel, they were “astonished,” perceiving that “they were uneducated, common men.” Peter, Andrew, James, John probably would have marked their educational attainment level on a survey as high school diploma or less, and yet Jesus called these uneducated, common men, “to show that surpassing power belongs to God and not to us” (2 Cor. 4:7).
In verse 4, Simon is further identified as “the Zealot,” which may indicate Simon’s membership among the Zealots, which was a Jewish, political revolutionary group. If so, the fact that Jesus called both Simon the Zealot and Matthew the Tax Collector to be a member of His inner circle is remarkable, since they are political and ideological opposites. Tax collectors cooperated with the Romans, Zealots sought to overthrow the Romans. Jesus brought people together from across the political divide, all submitted under His Lordship.
It is also deeply moving that Matthew, who is the author of this Gospel, intentionally adds, “Matthew the tax collector.” Unlike “James the son of Zebedee” (10:2) and “James the son of Alphaeus” (10:3), there’s no one else named “Matthew” among the Twelve, so he doesn’t need the additional identifier. Yet, Matthew specifically notes this and you can sense the wonder, disbelief, and gratefulness in Matthew’s mind as he pens this verse, “Matthew the tax collector.” The tax collector who was despised by all his Jewish compatriots for abetting and aiding their oppressive occupiers, the Romans. The tax collector whose occupation was a byword for sinners, because they collected more than was necessary to enrich themselves at the impoverishment of their neighbors. Remember 9:11, where the Pharisees complained to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” To which Jesus replied, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. … For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Note that Jesus admits here that tax collectors are not righteous. They were sinful. They were not well; they were sick. “And that’s why I came, to heal them!” says Jesus! And this is heartening news for all of us sinners.
Recommended Song:
“Grace and Peace” by Sovereign Grace Music (Find it on our church’s Spotify playlist, “Trinity Hymnal,” at http://bit.do/trinityhymnal)
Pray:
- Pray that our church would grow in confidence in God and remember that our power and effectiveness in ministry depend ultimately on Him and not on us. Pray that this recognition would drive our church more and more to prayer.
- Pray for unity in our church across the political divide and any other kinds of divisions throughout our society—that we would all be submitted to the Lordship of Christ and the authority of His Word.
- Pray that our church would never lose the wonder of God’s mercy, that God would refresh our joy of salvation as we remember that we were all once like “Matthew the tax collector.”
DAY THREE: LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS
Reflect:
Jesus says in verses 37-38, “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.” Now, Jesus is using the metaphor of the harvest to teach us that there are many who need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ and be saved. In Jeremiah 2:3, God describes His people, Israel, as “the first fruit of his harvest.” The harvest represents the people who belong to God, and the word “first fruit” implies that there is more of the harvest to come. Jesus is speaking now of that harvest. The metaphor also conveys the urgency of our mission. Farmers must reap the ripe crops in a timely manner, because there is a narrow window for achieving peak yield and quality, before the crops are destroyed by pests, the weather, or spoilage Jesus is saying that “the fields are white for harvest,” and, as John 4:35-36 says, “already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life.” The time is now! There are people who are ready to hear and believe the gospel now!
This verse single-handedly dispels an insidious lie that stops many Christians from sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others. How many times have you thought to yourself, “nobody is interested in Christianity nowadays,” “If I tell other people about Jesus, I’m only going to face rejection.” We are not fishermen crowding around a small pond, competing for the few catchable fish that are swimming in it. Jesus doesn’t say that the “harvest is scanty, while laborers are many.” Jesus says, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.”
Recommended Song:
“One Thing” by Sovereign Grace Music (Find it on our church’s Spotify playlist, “Trinity Hymnal,” at http://bit.do/trinityhymnal)
Pray:
- Pray that our church would have faith to believe that the harvest is indeed plentiful.
- Pray for the empowerment of the Spirit to speak His word here with all boldness in Cambridge.
- Ask God to make us a church that shares the gospel with our unbelieving friends and neighbors every week.
- Pray for more laborers to be sent into God’s harvest from this church throughout this lost world.
