Pray for the Harvest

Dear Weekly Readers!

God’s Peace!

I am so thankful  for all of your prayers for our recent trip to India.  God has greatly blessed us on this trip, and we are so humbled to have the privilege of being a small part of the work of the Lord in India and around the world.

To all of the readers from India that we were not able to visit, I am truly sorry.  It was impossible to make it to all the places that we should go with the time and money we had available.  However, we know that if God wills us to come visit you in the future, it will happen. Therefore, we wait on the Lord. 

For this week’s and next week’s articles for this Weekly Diner, I want to share of two of the most memorable events of the trip to India.   God is good! 

John 16:26: At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 

Often times on mission trips around the world, we are asked to pray for people along the way.  It is such an honor to pray for someone in Jesus name, since we know that Jesus is alive and is our intercessor before the Father with all of these prayers.

During a particularly busy time in India, while we were conducting pastor’s seminars and medical clinics at the same time, I was passing from one to the other with our host pastor.  As we passed by a particular place of business, the pastor suddenly slowed down the motorbike and told me that we should go pray for the lady in that store.   He had noticed her standing there alone, so the thought came that it is a good time to pray for and with her.

As we approached the store, I was told very briefly of her circumstances.   This lady has a very strict non-Christian Hindu husband who will not allow his wife, who confesses Jesus Christ as her Lord, to worship her Saviour in any way.  He will not even allow her a Bible, or to pray if he knows about it, or to go to church, or to worship in any other way.   Can you imagine a life such as this? 

It was an honor to pray for her that day.  It felt so special to be in her presence and to be able to share this stolen moment with her.  Lord, today again we ask that the heart of the husband would be touched and broken, so that he could also stop rejecting the Grace that has been afforded all whom believe by faith what Jesus has done for each of us on the cross! 

After leaving this place, the pastor told me that the lady will most likely be beaten by her husband that night, because most likely some bystander will tell him that we came and prayed with her.  The lady said this: the beatings are worth it in order to be prayed for in Jesus name!  What faith, what courage, what strength of the Lord!

Lord, be with this woman and the millions of others suffering persecution in this world today.   We know that YOU know this woman’s pain, and we know You have come and paid the price for her and all the rest of the persecuted church!

Lord, we thank Thee for being so patient and long suffering.   We know that in Thy Wisdom and Providence, You are allowing the world to continue on as of today, despite all the sin and corruption, so that the last of the lost ones can be found. 

Lord, allow us in some small way to share Your love with the unbelievers this day.   Lord, we know Thy Word says in Matthew 9: 37-38 …The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send for labourers into his harvest. 

Thy Will be done!  Amen

May God Bless your Week

Yours in Christ Jesus, John Ruotsala