二月十九日

主耶和華如此說：“我要加增以色列家的人數，多如羊群。他們必為這事向我求問，我要給他們成就。……”（結36:37）

禱告是恩憐的前驅。翻開聖史，那有一種恩憐不先經過祈求就臨到這個世界呢？從你個人的經驗中也能證實這事。神曾將許多你所未求的恩典給你，但懇切的禱告總是大恩憐的前奏。當你開頭藉十字架的寶血得到平安之後，你曾多多、切切禱告過，曾求神挪去你的疑惑，救你脫離憂苦。你得了救乃是禱告的結果。當你滿有極大的歡樂時，你不能不覺得那是你禱告的結果。當你脫離極大的困苦，在極危險中得到大救助，你一定能說：“我曾尋求耶和華，他就應允我，救我脫離了一切的恐懼。”福樂之前必先之以禱告，禱告是福樂的影兒。當神恩憐的日光照射在你的需要之上時，就有禱告的影子映在下面。也可以說，神堆起了一座恩憐的山，他自己在山後發出光芒來，便在我們的心靈中映出了禱告的影子，因此好叫我們得到確據，若我們多禱告，我們的祈求就是恩憐的影子。禱告叫我們知道福份的價值。若我們所得的福未曾經過禱告，我們就當把那些看為平常；禱告使我們所得的恩典比金剛石還寶貴。我們所求而得的是寶貴的，但若我們不切切尋求就不會知道它的寶貴。

“禱告驅散了烏雲，禱告登上了雅各的天梯；

禱告訓練了信心和愛心，帶來了天上各樣的福氣。”

February 19

"Thus saith the Lord God; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them." --Ezekiel 36:37

Prayer is the forerunner of mercy. Turn to sacred history, and you will find that scarcely ever did a great mercy come to this world unheralded by supplication. You have found this true in your own personal experience. God has given you many an unsolicited favour, but still great prayer has always been the prelude of great mercy with you. When you first found peace through the blood of the cross, you had been praying much, and earnestly interceding with God that He would remove your doubts, and deliver you from your distresses. Your assurance was the result of prayer. When at any time you have had high and rapturous joys, you have been obliged to look upon them as answers to your prayers. When you have had great deliverances out of sore troubles, and mighty helps in great dangers, you have been able to say, "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears." Prayer is always the preface to blessing. It goes before the blessing as the blessing's shadow. When the sunlight of God's mercies rises upon our necessities, it casts the shadow of prayer far down upon the plain. Or, to use another illustration, when God piles up a hill of mercies, He Himself shines behind them, and He casts on our spirits the shadow of prayer, so that we may rest certain, if we are much in prayer, our pleadings are the shadows of mercy. Prayer is thus connected with the blessing to show us the value of it. If we had the blessings without asking for them, we should think them common things; but prayer makes our mercies more precious than diamonds. The things we ask for are precious, but we do not realize their preciousness until we have sought for them earnestly.

"Prayer makes the darken'd cloud withdraw;

Prayer climbs the ladder Jacob saw;

Gives exercise to faith and love;

Brings every blessing from above."