Silent Labourers

Tuesday 8 December
READ: Lk. 2: 36 - 38
MORE LESSON: Matt. 6: 1 - 4

It is common for workers in the vineyard of God to desire to be in positions where they can be visible to all. But the Lord actually esteems those who can humbly labour in the secret place where no one sees them. Such people obtain great rewards from God who sees in the secret and rewards in the open (Matt 6: 1 – 4). In the Bible, Anna was an old woman who had been a widow for 84 years. Instead of complaining, she stayed in the temple day and night for all the years fasting and praying to God to send the Deliverer of Israel. Her silent labours were part of what ushered in Jesus Christ (Luke 2: 36 – 38).

Dr. Yongi Cho the pastor of one of the largest congregations in the whole world shared a testimony about his church in South Korea. He noticed that each time he conducted a miracle meeting, miracles would happen on a particular row, another time it would be another particular row. The rows are very long as it is a massive church but whichever row the miracle was taking place, nothing would happen on the other rows in a particular service. So he was curious and wanted to know why it was so. He asked God what the matter was and God led him to go to the church as early as 5am one morning. He saw a sister that came around and was cleaning the chairs in a particular row and praying in tongues over them. She prayed and cried till tears flowed on the seats and after she was done she left. That particular day, when the meeting started, miracles took place on the row that the woman cleaned. He then realised that it was the silent labour of that woman that was responsible for opening the Heaven for the people on that row.

Another great servant of God in Nigeria also shared the testimony of a young lady in the choir. He noticed that each time she led a song, the spiritual atmosphere became so charged with God’s presence that he could hardly preach. In fact the people would have been praying before he came up. One day before service he was praying round the church and saw someone crying and praying at a corner in the church. He went and tapped her and discovered that it was the lady. He asked her if everything was okay and she said it was. After trying to get her talk and the lady insisted that she was fine, he left. It was later in the service that the girl climbed up to sing that he realised what happened; Heaven opened as she sang.

Whether your service is in the secret or in the open, you can be a silent labourer. The success of your ministry is dependent on the quantity of your labour in the secret place.

Prayer/Action
* Ask God to make you a sincere and committed worker in His Kingdom.
* Pray that your singular effort will make a difference in God’s work.
* Pray that you will be a mighty tool in the hand of God in your generation.

PROPHETIC PRAYER
Father, in the name of Jesus, December will be a new and better season for me.