And he said to them, “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.” (Luke 10:2)

Jesus instructed his disciples to pray for something that God already wanted to do. The harvest belonged to God. He was the Lord of it and intended to reap it. Yet he said, “Pray earnestly.”

There are some who affirm that we ought to have faith when we pray, but who nevertheless cling to the specific error that faith makes it wrong to ask God for what he already desires to give. But it is silly to think that if God wants to do something, then petition becomes unnecessary or even indicates a lack of faith. The assumption is that faith would simply declare, “I take it” or “I have it.” This error arises from a misunderstanding that pits petition and confession against each other, as if they were mutually exclusive rather than complementary expressions of faith.

Scripture never portrays petition itself as faithless. On the contrary, it exalts petitionary prayer as proper and powerful, including when it is based on what God has promised. Jesus taught us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” He did not say, “Confess that you have bread.” Confession is a valid expression of faith, but Jesus said you could ask. When we ask God to give what he has said he wants to give, this is not unbelief. If we expect to receive because we ask, then it is an expression of faith.

To say, “I receive healing,” or “I receive the money I need,” is often the right way to speak. These are expressions of faith, and they are forms of prayer. Both confession and petition are valid. Both can be full of faith. The issue is faith, not mechanics. The man who prays, “Lord, provide for me,” might have more faith than the man who mindlessly repeats a confession. Faith is the substance. Language is the expression.

It is biblical to ask for miracles. It does not indicate low-level spirituality or immaturity. Jesus said the Father gives good gifts to those who ask. He never rebuked people for asking too much, only for expecting too little. The centurion and the Syrophoenician woman were both praised for their faith, and both came asking. One pleaded for a servant, the other for a daughter. Jesus did not turn them away with a lecture about mechanics. Whether we come asking or confessing, God honors courageous and shameless faith.

Prayer is a natural expression of faith. You may petition or confess. You may ask once or repeat. The form becomes less important than the confidence behind it. The power lies in faith that approaches God as a Father who delights in giving, and who desires to be asked. Those who receive from God are those who believe that their requests matter. Faith is not a performance to avoid asking. It is the reason we dare to ask. It is the confidence that God is disposed to act, and that he delights when we call on him to do so.

Asking God for what God wants to give is not redundant. Jesus said the harvest is ready, and then commanded prayer. This means that asking does not presume God’s unwillingness. It acknowledges his readiness. So we ask for laborers. We ask for healing. We ask for favor and success. We ask for the conversions of men and women. We ask for things already promised, because faith believes that asking is the way of receiving.

The more we believe God, the more freely we will ask. The more deeply we trust his expressed desires for our well-being, the more naturally we will pray. Faith is not the absence of petition, but the assurance that petition is effectual. When we confess the word of God, we do well. When we ask him to fulfill that word, we also do well. These are not competing methods, but converging streams of faith. And in the day of harvest, the ones who asked for laborers will rejoice with the reapers. Jesus said to pray. So we pray. Not because God is reluctant, but because he is ready. We pray because he wants to give. We pray because we believe.