12月21日 效法耶稣的祷告榜样
12月21日，主日
效法耶稣的祷告榜样
“既然我们知道他听我们的祈求，我们就知道，我们无论求什么，他必赐给我们。”（约翰壹书5:15）
我们看到连神的儿子自己也在祷告。因此，如果你对祷告的“哲学难题”感兴趣，请立刻思想我们主耶稣基督这个榜样。看哪，这位是独生、永恒的神子；这位论到自己说，祂虽然在地上，却仍旧在天上；又宣告：“我与父原为一”（约10:30）。那么，祂为什么还需要祷告呢？为什么祂在拣选门徒之前，要整夜祷告？如果你对这些哲学问题感兴趣，请回答这一点：神的儿子在世的时候，为什么需要如此多地祷告？然而，事实就是——祂确实如此行了。
换句话说，圣经教导我们：祷告对我们来说是必须的、至关重要的，并且圣经在各处都劝勉我们要祷告。不仅如此，如果你阅读教会历史上那些神的伟大圣徒的传记，你会发现他们都是勤于祷告的人。我想我可以这样说：据记载，约翰·卫斯理常说，任何配得“基督徒”之名的人，每天至少应该花四小时在祷告上，他也常以此标准来衡量他所牧养的人。历世历代以来，凡是在这个世界上被神大大使用的仆人，无一不是长时间祷告的人。人越是亲近神，就越是多向祂祷告；因此，基督教会的见证，恰好印证了圣经本身的教导。
此外，圣经中有无数的记载清楚地告诉我们，神是怎样藉着回应祷告而成就了事情。照我看来，解释这一点，其实并不困难。那位决定最终结局的神，也同时决定了达成结局的途径（Means）；如果神在祂无限的智慧中已经定意，要藉着祂子民的祷告，并回应他们的祷告，来成就某些事情，那么，我怀着敬畏要问一句：祂为什么不可以这样做呢？
默想主题：
人越是亲近神，就越是多向祂祷告。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：代下25章，启12章
个人灵修：亚8章，约11章
December 21, Sunday
FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF JESUS IN PRAYER
And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1 JOHN 5:15
One sees the very Son of God Himself at prayer. So if you are interested in the philosophical aspect of prayer, go immediately to the case of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is the only begotten, the eternal Son of God; there is the one who says of Himself that though He is upon earth, He is still in heaven; there is the one who says, “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Why had He any need to pray? Why, before choosing His disciples, did He spend all night in prayer? If you are interested in philosophical problems, answer that. Why was it ever necessary for the Son of God to pray so much while He was here on earth? And yet He did.
In other words, the Scripture teaches that prayer is essential and vital to us, and everywhere we are exhorted to it. Not only that, but if you read the lives of God’s greatest saints in the long history of the Church, you will find that they were men and women of prayer. I believe I am right in saying that John Wesley used to say that any Christian worthy of the name should spend at least four hours every day in prayer, and he tended to judge his people by that. There has never been a man or woman of God who has been singularly used of God in this world, but that they spent much time in prayer. The nearer people are to God, the more they pray to Him; so the testimony of the Christian Church supports the teaching of Scripture itself.
Furthermore, we have numerous incidents in Scripture of what God has clearly done by way of answer to prayer, and it seems to me that the explanation ultimately is not really difficult. The God who determines the end determines the means; and if God in His infinite wisdom is determined that He is going to bring certain things to pass as a result of and in answer to the prayers of His people, I ask with reverence, why shouldn’t He?
A Thought to Ponder: The nearer people are to God, the more they pray to Him.