Then he said to his disciples, “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.”

Mathew 9:37-38

to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me

Act 26:18 

Whenever the military engage in an operation, they give it a code, a name. Some names are meant to hide the intensions while others are deliberately set to advertise the nature of the Operations. Praying for the Lost is a critical thing that is less common but urgently needed to be done by all. We call this Operation Urgent because the task is urgent.

The Lost, who are also called the Harvest are in danger of damnation. That is why Jesus in John 4:  declared that the Harvest was ready and was in danger of being wasted

We must know that People without Jesus are spiritually blinded, walk in darkness and bound by Sin (1 Cor. 4:4; Acts 26:18). Therefore, in seeking to lead them to Christ, we must be intentional in praying for them.

Today’s Message gives Four Areas to stress when praying for those who do not know Jesus Christ

1. Earnestly Pray to the Lord of Harvest
   • We Pray to the Lord of Harvest
   • We Pray earnestly to the Lord
   • We earnestly Pray to the Lord of the Harvest
2. Bind the Strong Man (Math.12:29, Dan. 10)
   • A “Strong Man” is a demonic power controlling a person, or an area of influence (Luke 11:21-22)
   • Without Binding the “Strong man,” souls might not be won to Christ (Math. 12: 29)
   • Territorial Spirits (Prince of Persia, Greece) are able to control the spiritual activities in a geographical space (Daniel 10)
   • Without binding the “Strong man” over a territory, graces that the Lord has for that community may be locked (Daniel 10)
   • To Win Cities, we must understand the “Strong men” or evil spirits that have taken charge of the City.
3. Recognize and Break Strongholds (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
   • Strongholds are thoughts, ways of thinking, that are raised as prominent against the knowledge of Jesus (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
   • Strongholds of thoughts are usually entrenched in the way of life of a people
   • Pray for Discernment and Revelation from God of what particular strongholds has kept the person or area being prayed for.
   • Some Strongholds include Occultic Strongholds. This is a preoccupation with the hidden and latent spirit of demons. If a person associates themselves with witchcraft, satanism, new age, vimbuza, majini, etc
   • Occultic Strongholds leads to bondage, living in fear and often makes people live under the power of a curse
   • Demonic Strongmen are empowered by occultic strongholds
   • Pray in the Spirit to discern the strongman and the strongholds
4. Pray For the Conviction of the Holy Spirit (John 16:8)
   • Conviction is a process led by the Holy Spirit exposing the sin-reality in a person with the aim of bringing them to sin-awareness.
   • Ordinarily, this process is usually within the framework of the Word of God. As a person hears the Word of God, its razor-sharp abilities penetrates their soul and they feel cross-examined until they know on the inside that they are guilty of sin.
   • This intense awareness of “wrongness before God” is the function of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does convict both nonbelievers and believers alike
   • A person under conviction is exposed, confronted and naked before God (Heb. 4: 12). That is why it is a essential for one being prayed should be invited to place where the gospel is preached.
5. Pray for Open Doors (Acts 14:17)
   • Open Doors are a symbol of open opportunities to share the Gospel; while Keys represent authority.
   • Open doors may be a form of reception given to the preacher, it could be a relational connection, it could a cultural understanding predisposing one to listen to the gospel teaching, etc. An Open Door may be anything within the environment that makes some be predisposed to give the gospel a chance.
   • Human needs, such as sicknesses and disasters are powerful triggers in opening doors. 
   • The key to envangelizm is to discern open doors to share Christ.
   • God is the one who opens doors of opportunities. However, he does it as a response to prayer from His People
   • Act 14:27  And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. Col 4:2  Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. Col 4:3  At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison—
   • Open doors are not enemy-less doors
   • 1Co 16:9  for a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
   • Pray for the Leading of the Spirit; for not every open door should be entered. Find the opportune time as you share Christ. 
   • 2Co 2:12  When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 2Co 2:13  my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.

Altar Time

• Consecrate Yourself to Pray
• Pray for those without Christ