6月20日

標　　題：當神說不的時候

經　　節：用刀殺了約翰的哥哥雅各。他見猶太人喜歡這事，又去捉拿彼得。（使徒行傳十二章2～3節上）

你是否在神回絕自己的祈求時，仍然能接受神的旨意呢？如果你在神的旨意中禱告，祂總是會回應你的禱告（耶利米書卅三：3）。然而，有時候祂會拒絕你的祈求。

希律王拘捕彼得，並且準備要辦他。就在那一夜，教會弟兄姊妹聚集禱告的時候，彼得被天使救出來，逃過一劫。神在那一夜，以神跡回答祂百姓們的祈禱。然而，不久之前，雅各也被希律王拘捕，結果被殺了。當然，教會眾弟兄姊妹也曾熱切為雅各禱告，就像他們為彼得禱告一樣。但是，神那一次對他們的回答是：不。

神是否愛彼得多過雅各？當然不是。雅各曾經是耶穌的密友之一。然而，神讓雅各死，卻存留彼得的性命在世上繼續服事祂。耶路撒冷的教會並沒有變得苦毒，他們接受祂的回答，因為他們相信祂的愛與智慧。

有時候神要我們恒切禱告，直到祂在我們身上成就祂的事工（路加福音十一：5～8，十八：1～6）。然而，如果神的答案是否定的，你再怎麼乞求神改變心意，也是徒勞無用。有些人無法接受神的拒絕，他們堅持如果禱告夠長、夠努力，神終究會照著你的心願成全一切。當神已經清楚拒絕你的祈求時，你仍然不斷地懇求，這對神是個侮辱。禱告的目的不是要神順著我們的心意成就，乃是調整我們的心意能合乎神的旨意。我們一定要學習相信神，當祂對我們說不的時候，要相信祂的旨意是最美好的。

When God Says No

Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to seize Peter also. (Acts 12:2-3a)

Can you accept God's will when His answer is no? If you are praying in God's will, He will always answer you when you pray (Jer. 33:3). However, sometimes His answer will be no.

King Herod arrested Peter and prepared to have him executed. During the night, as his church prayed, Peter's life was spared when an angel freed him. God miraculously answered the prayers of His people that night. Yet not long before, James, too, had been arrested by Herod. James, however, was executed. Surely the church had prayed for James as fervently as they did for Peter, yet that time God's answer had been no.

Did God love Peter more than James? Of course not. James had been one of Jesus' closest friends. Yet God allowed James to die while He continued to use Peter in His service. The church in Jerusalem did not become bitter toward God. They accepted His answer because they trusted His love and wisdom.

There are times when God wants us to persist in our praying until He has completed His work in us_(Luke 11:5–8; 18:1–6). However, when God's answer is no, it is futile to continue pleading for a yes. Some refuse to take no for an answer, insisting that if you pray long enough and hard enough, God will ultimately grant any request you make. It is an affront to your Lord to continue pleading with Him when He has clearly said no. The purpose of prayer is not to conform God to our will but to adjust our will to God. We must learn to trust God so that if He says no, we accept that His will is best.