3月17日
诚心求告
“凡求告耶和华的,就是诚心求告他的, 耶和华便与他们相近。”
诗篇 145:18
在自然的层面上,我们往往忽视祷告,直到遇见痛苦和困难的时候,才想起来要祷告。我们常常是被周围的环境逼到不得己的时候,才会真正地祷告。
穆迪指出:在耶稣基督里,有三种不同程度的信心。挣扎的信心,犹如一个人在深水中挣扎,满心恐惧;依赖的信心,好比一个人悬在船边上;安定的信心,就像一个人很安心地呆在船上,足够坚强、足够安全,他随时可以伸手去救助别人。
这才是你我作为基督徒应该有的信心。这种信心往往通过患难才能得到。患难生忍耐。在欧洲的一个监狱的墙上,有这么一段话:“即使没有阳光,我也相信有太阳;即使感受不到,我也相信有爱;即使上帝沉默,我也信靠祂。”
有时候,神似乎没有声音。然而,当我们看到神在基督徒身陷囹圄、经历环境时所做的工作,当我们听到在前途未卜时基督徒依然信心坚定,我们就会看到,原来痛苦的经历会生出忍耐的果实。
今日祷告:
父啊,当我向你呼求时,求你来就近我。我知道你爱我。奉耶稣的名祷告,阿们。
March 17
WHEN GOD SEEMS SILENT
The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. Psalm 145:18
On the natural level we tend to neglect the privilege of prayer until we encounter sufferings or difficulty of some kind. We often need to be driven to real prayer by the circumstances that surround us.
Dwight L. Moody was fond of pointing out that there are three kinds of faith in Jesus Christ: struggling faith, which is like a man floundering and fearful in deep water; clinging faith, which is like a man hanging to the side of a boat; and resting faith, which finds a man safe inside the boat-strong and secure enough to reach out his hand to help someone else.
That is the sort of faith you and I have to acquire in order to be effective as Christians-and such faith may be ours through the ministry of suffering in our lives.
Suffering also teaches us patience. These words were found penned on the wall of a prison cell in Europe: “I believe in the sun even when it is not shining. I believe in love even when I don’t feel it. I believe in God even when He is silent.”
Sometimes God seems so quiet! However, when we see the way He works in lives imprisoned by walls or circumstances, when we hear how faith can shine through uncertainty, we begin to catch a glimpse of the fruit of patience that can grow out of the experience of suffering.
Pray for the Day:
Father, be near me when I call out to You. I know that You love me; in Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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