The Prayer Request of Christ; "Making an Impact Through Sending Prayers."Chikamu

Day Two: A Prayer Of Compassion

We live in a world that experiences heartache. This will eventually end when Christ returns and restores all things. Until then heartaches continue, which are also noticed and felt by God.

Undoubtedly, the things which break the Lord’s heart are too numerous to know. Scripture does however reveal some of the causes of Jesus’ heartache through the word compassion (pity). The Greek word for compassion is splanchnizomai, which appears twelve times in the gospels. The word expresses an intense, inner emotion Jesus experienced when he saw suffering and need.

Nine times, splanchnizomai coincides with people that Jesus encountered (three others occur in his teachings). Seven times, the Lord responded with a miracle. In Matthew 20:34, Jesus had compassion on two blind men and restored their sight. In Mark 8:2, his compassion led to a miraculous feeding. Then, in Luke 7:13, Jesus observes the funeral of a widow who was burying her only son. His compassion led him to raise the boy back to life and restore him to his mother. The gospels, however, share two episodes where the compassion of Jesus does not result in a miracle. Both are centered around the phrase, “sheep without a shepherd.”

In Mark 6:34, Christ’s compassion caused Him to teach the people. In Matthew 9, we read, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36, NIV). This time Jesus’ compassion led him to request/command that his followers pray “sending prayers.” A prayer birthed from the Lord’s compassion. A prayer that serves as a catalyst for sending his followers to tell others about the shepherd. A prayer so that those who are one breath away from eternal darkness and separation from God in hell, can become a forgiven, child of God.

Since this prayer for workers was birthed from compassion, by asking Jesus to send workers, we connect with the major cause of his heart break, and the reason he came to earth. This prayer therefore, will not only impact lives, it’s a prayer the Lord can use to enlarge our hearts as well.

Lord, I ask that you continue sending workers into your harvest. And may this result in many people being restored to you, the Good Shepherd.

Matt 9:35-38
Luke 7:11-17
1 Peter 2:24-25