10月11日 神沉默之後－－怎樣？

聽見拉撒路病了，就在所居之地，仍住了兩天。（約十一6）

神有沒有因為信任你，對你默不作聲－－一個滿有意義的沉默？神的沉默就是他的回答。試想在伯大尼那幾天的死寂！在你生命中，有類似的日子嗎？神能否這樣信任你？還是你仍不斷求取眼見的答覆？要是你得不著那祝福就不肯前行，神也會賜下；但他若沉默，是表示要使你對他有更深切的認識。你是否因為神未明明地回答你而憂愁？你會發現神最親密待你，就是完全的沉默，不是絕望的死寂，而是愉快對你，因為他看到你可以承受一個更大的啟示。如果神對你沉默，要讚美他，他正帶你進入他偉大的計劃中。神何時彰顯他的答覆，在乎他的主權。時間對神不是什麼一回事。你曾說：“我求餅，他卻給石頭。”其實他沒有這樣作，今日你要發現神賜給你的是生命的餅。

神的沉默有一奇妙之處，就是把他的安靜傳給你，使你變得完全的堅信－－“我知道神聽了我。”他的沉默表示他聽見了。若你一意要神答允賜福你的禱告，他是會成就的；可是他不會賜你沉默的恩典。若耶穌基督引導你明白禱告是為榮耀父神，那麼，他就會給你一個先兆，表示他與你的親密關係－－沉默。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，願這刻你以同在的光輝和你靠近的感覺來施福予我。雖然我惟獨信靠你，但仍渴求自覺地以你的同在為樂，願你將它賜給我。

October 11 After God's Silence – What?

“When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days in the same place where he was.” John 11:6

Has God trusted you with a silence – a silence that is big with meaning? God's silences are His answers. Think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything analogous to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking for a visible answer? God will give you the blessings you ask if you will not go any further without them; but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into a marvellous understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? You will find that God has trusted you in the most intimate way possible, with an absolute silence, not of despair, but of pleasure, because He saw that you could stand a bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, praise Him, He is bringing you into the great run of His purposes. The manifestation of the answer in time is a matter of God's sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you said – “I asked God to give me bread, and He gave me a stone.” He did not, and to-day you find He gave you the bread of life.

A wonderful thing about God's silence is that the contagion of His stillness gets into you and you become perfectly confident – “I know God has heard me.” His silence is the proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, He will give you the first sign of His intimacy – silence.