8月28日 禱告何益？

求主教導我們禱告。（路十一1）

祈禱在人的生命中並無地位。我們常聽到這樣的說法：一個人若不禱告，他的生命就會受虧損。這個我不同意。受虧損的是在他裡面神兒子的生命，那生命不是靠食物養活，而是靠禱告養活的。人重生以後，神兒子的生命就住在他裡面；他可以養育這生命，也可以叫它餓壞。禱告是屬神生命得滋養的方法。我們一般對禱告的看法，並不是新約聖經的看法。我們往往視禱告為從神求討東西的途徑。但聖經中的禱告，是叫我們得以認識神自己。

“凡祈求的，就得著。”我們在神面前埋怨，或與他辯論，或對他冷漠，卻甚少求什麼。試看有小孩子樣式的兒女那種坦率大膽，是多麼可愛！我們的主說：“你們若不回轉，變成小孩子的樣式－－”求吧。神必然成就。給主耶穌一個機會，讓他可以自由行事。人非到了盡頭，不會這樣作。

當人到了盡頭去祈求，並不是懦弱，因為這是唯一通往現實的方法。在神面前，只管按你的本相，擺出你那來到盡頭的問題。每當你自滿自足，就不會來求神。與其說“禱告改變萬事”，不如說禱告改變我，然後我改變萬事。神的行事方法，就是藉基於救贖的禱告，改變一個人對事物的看法。禱告不是改變外在事態，乃是在人的本性上行奇事。

祈禱◆“主－－我們的神、全能者作王了。”主啊，這句話是何等偉大和令人振奮。願我因著知道你作王，而充滿了甯謐的平安。

August 28 What's The Good Of Prayer?

“Lord, teach us to pray.” Luke 11:1

It is not part of the life of a natural man to pray. We hear it said that a man will suffer in his life if he does not pray; I question it. What will suffer is the life of the Son of God in him, which is nourished not by food, but by prayer. When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God is born in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer is the way the life of God is nourished. Our ordinary views of prayer are not found in the New Testament. We look upon prayer as a means of getting things for ourselves; the Bible idea of prayer is that we may get to know God Himself.

“Ask and ye shall receive.” We grouse before God, we are apologetic or apathetic, but we ask very few things. Yet what a splendid audacity a childlike child has! Our Lord says – “Except ye become as little children.” Ask, and God will do. Give Jesus Christ a chance, give Him elbow room, and no man will ever do this unless he is at his wits' end. When a man is at his wits' end it is not a cowardly thing to pray, it is the only way he can get into touch with Reality. Be yourself before God and present your problems, the things you know you have come to your wits' end over. As long as you are self-sufficient, you do not need to ask God for anything.

It is not so true that “prayer changes things” as that prayer changes me and I change things. God has so constituted things that prayer on the basis of Redemption alters the way in which a man looks at things. Prayer is not a question of altering things externally, but of working wonders in a man's disposition.