If you listen to Christian radio, or watch Christian television, the predominant message seems to be that we are living in the Last Days, and isn't it wonderful?
Well...are we? And is it what we want?
For the first, the statement is based on various interpretations of Scripture, with a slant toward proving the Last Days premise. But the one overriding message comes from Jesus Christ himself - that not even He knew when His return would take place. If he doesn't know, are we smarter because we can find 'clues' in the Bible? I think possibly not.
And the second...making the assumption that we're close to the end of the race and our victory is in sight takes away our primary work in this world - to bring people to Christ. If we want to bring in the biggest possible harvest, shouldn't we be asking for long days, and a long harvest season?
The most effective way to bring people to the Lord is by example. It's living the Christian life, with forgiveness and forbearance, by slow degrees showing that yes, it's better to follow Christ. Doing this through long days and longer nights is hard, slow work, and often we won't know the fruits of our labors.
That takes time. If we really want to love and serve God by bringing in the harvest, we should ask for more time to work.
Not less.