7月9日

標　　題：有效且懇切的祈禱

經　　節：義人祈禱所發的力量是大有功效的。（雅各書五章16節下）

神應許所有信徒若能過公義的生活，並且懇切地祈禱，我們的禱告是大有功效，且會有重大的結果。我們是如何看這條應許呢？我們可能會爭論：「可是，我真的有禱告，只是什麼事也沒有發生！」我們的問題在於不相信神話語的可靠性。神的話告訴我們，禱告會成就許多事。倘若我們的禱告生活沒有成就任何事，我們該怎麼辦？倘若我們禱告沒有果效，是否代表這個應許不是真的？我們是否應該因而認定聖經不合實際？或者我們應檢驗自己是否合它的條件？

雅各說，懇切地禱告是大有功效的。我們是否禱告得不夠懇切？懇切地禱告代表我們絕不輕易放棄。懇切地禱告表示我們願意花足夠的時間為人代禱。懇切地禱告是以心靈向天父呼求，有時甚至是帶著眼淚的。懇切地禱告是聖靈以說不出的歎息為我們禱告（羅馬書八：26）。

根據雅各書，我們的公義會保證有功效的禱告。神公義的標準與我們的標準不同。祂越過我們的行為，甚至我們的思想，直見我們的內心。倘若我們的禱告功效很小，怎能自以為已盡了責任？如果禱告沒有效，問題不在神的身上，而在我們的身上，因為神的話是絕對可靠的。如果我們能堅守神的要求，祂會領我們照著祂的心意禱告，且以大能的方式回答我們的禱告。

Effective, Fervent Prayer

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. (James 5:16b)

God promises all believers that if we live righteously and pray fervently, our prayers will be effective and produce significant results. How do we treat a promise like this? We might argue, “But I do pray, and nothing happens!” Our problem is that we do not hold ourselves accountable to the Scripture. God’s Word says that prayer ought to accomplish much. If our prayer life is not accomplishing much, what should we do? If we are praying but seeing no results, should we conclude that this promise is untrue? Should we excuse this Scripture as impractical and unrealistic? Or should we examine ourselves to see if we meet its conditions?

James says that fervent prayer avails much. Could it be that we are not as fervent in our praying as we should be? Fervent prayer means we do not quit easily. Fervent prayer means we purposefully spend sufficient time in intercession. Fervent prayer means we cry out to the Father, sometimes in tears, with our heart and soul. Fervent prayer comes as the Holy Spirit assists us in praying with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26).

According to James, our righteousness will ensure effective prayer. God’s standard of righteousness is different from ours, for He looks beyond our actions, even beyond our thoughts, directly to our hearts. How then should we hold ourselves accountable if our prayers are accomplishing little? If nothing happens when we pray, the problem is not with God. The problem is with us, for God’s word is absolutely reliable. If we adhere to what God requires, He will lead us to pray for things that align with His purposes, and God will answer our prayers in a mighty way.