8月23日 禱告的選擇與禱告的衝突

你禱告的時候，要進你的內屋，關上門，禱告你在暗中的父。（太六6）

耶穌不是說“夢想你在暗中的父”，而是“禱告你在暗中的父”。禱告是一項意志的行動。我們進到內室，關上門，這時最難的事就是禱告。我們無法控制心思，就是思想的浮游。私禱最大的爭戰，就是要勝過心不在焉。必須控制心思，集中心力去禱告。

我們必須選一個地方來禱告，可是我們一進去，那蠅災就來了－－這個要做，那個也要做。“關上門。”在隱密處的安靜，就是著意地把情感的門關上，只紀念神自己。神是在暗中的，他從暗中察看；他看我們，不同別人看我們，也不同我們看自己。活在內室之中，就根本沒有可能懷疑神，我們對他比對一切更肯定。耶穌說是在暗中的，而不在別的地方。進入內室，你就會在一切日常事務當中，發現神時刻同在。要習慣每一件事與神來往。每天清早張開眼，就該把門向神大開，讓神進來，否則你整天的工作就不對勁。向神大開心門，向暗中的父禱告，這樣，你每一件生活中公開的事，都必打上神同在的印記。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，在清晨的時間與你相交是何等美好。願你耐心地幫助我，將這寧靜的高貴時刻，轉化在這天的活動中。

August 23 Prayer Choice And Prayer Conflict

“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and pray to thy Father which is in secret.” Matthew 6:6

Jesus did not say – Dream about thy Father in secret, but pray to thy Father in secret. Prayer is an effort of will. After we have entered our secret place and have shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray; we cannot get our minds into working order, and the first thing that conflicts is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on wilful prayer.

We must have a selected place for prayer and when we get there the plague of flies begins – This must be done, and that. “Shut thy door.” A secret silence means to shut the door deliberately on emotions and remember God. God is in secret, and He sees us from the secret place; He does not see us as other people see us, or as we see ourselves. When we live in the secret place it becomes impossible for us to doubt God, we become more sure of Him than of anything else. Your Father, Jesus says, is in secret and nowhere else. Enter the secret place, and right in the centre of the common round you find God there all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.