Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. The command before the sending: pray. The disciples are not yet commissioned to go; they are first commanded to pray for the sending of laborers — including themselves. The prayer shapes the posture of those who will be sent: they go as those who have been praying for the mission they are part of, as those who recognize that the harvest belongs to the Lord and the sending is his act. The earnestly pray is the same ask-seek-knock of Matthew 7:7 applied to the specific need of the harvest. Chapter 10 will be the answer to the prayer of chapter 9:38 — Jesus sends the very disciples who have been praying.

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