0330 對神聖潔還是剛硬？
祂…見無人代求，甚為驚訝。《以賽亞書 59:16》
我們許多人停止禱告並對神變得冷淡，原因是我們對禱告只有情感上的興趣。說我們禱告，那聽起來不錯，我們讀關於禱告的書，這些書告訴我們禱告是有益的——當我們禱告時，我們的心思會安靜下來，我們的靈魂被提升起來。但以賽亞在這節經文中暗示，神對這種關於禱告的想法感到驚訝。
敬拜和代禱必須結合在一起，缺一不可。代禱意味着提升我們自己，以獲得基督對我們代求的那人的心思（見腓立比書 2:5）。我們不是在敬拜神，反而是向神背誦關於禱告應該如何工作的演講。當我們說「但是，神啊，我就是不明白你要怎麼做這事」時，我們是在敬拜神，還是在與祂爭論呢？這是我們沒有敬拜的明確標誌。當我們失去對神的視野時，我們變得冷酷和教條主義。我們把我們的祈求拋在祂的寶座前，指定神做我們要祂做的。我們不敬拜神，也不尋求將我們的心思符合基督的心思。如果我們對神冷酷，我們也會對其他人變得冷酷。
我們是否以一種會將我們提升到我們能抓住祂的方式敬拜神，與祂有如此親密的連接，以至於我們知道祂對我們所代求的人們的心思呢？我們是活在與神聖潔的關係中？還是變得冷酷和教條主義呢？
你是否發現自己認為無人適當地代求？那麼你自己就成為那個人吧，成為一個敬拜神並活在與神有聖潔關係的人。參與真正的代禱工作，記住這確實是一項工作——需要你所有的精力的工作，但沒有隱藏陷阱的工作。傳講福音有其陷阱，但代求卻完全沒有。
來自章伯斯的智慧
我們不是要宣揚行善。善行不是被宣講的，而是要被實踐的。《故我差遣你》
0330 Holiness or Hardness Toward God?
He…wondered that there was no intercessor… —Isaiah 59:16
The reason many of us stop praying and become hard toward God is that we only have an emotional interest in prayer. It sounds good to say that we pray, and we read books on prayer which tell us that prayer is beneficial— that our minds are quieted and our souls are uplifted when we pray. But Isaiah implied in this verse that God is amazed at such thoughts about prayer.
Worship and intercession must go together; one is impossible without the other. Intercession means raising ourselves up to the point of getting the mind of Christ regarding the person for whom we are praying (see Philippians 2:5). Instead of worshiping God, we recite speeches to God about how prayer is supposed to work. Are we worshiping God or disputing Him when we say, “But God, I just don’t see how you are going to do this”? This is a sure sign that we are not worshiping. When we lose sight of God, we become hard and dogmatic. We throw our petitions at His throne and dictate to Him what we want Him to do. We don’t worship God, nor do we seek to conform our minds to the mind of Christ. And if we are hard toward God, we will become hard toward other people.
Are we worshiping God in a way that will raise us up to where we can take hold of Him, having such intimate contact with Him that we know His mind about the ones for whom we pray? Are we living in a holy relationship with God, or have we become hard and dogmatic?
Do you find yourself thinking that there is no one interceding properly? Then be that person yourself. Be a person who worships God and lives in a holy relationship with Him. Get involved in the real work of intercession, remembering that it truly is work— work that demands all your energy, but work which has no hidden pitfalls. Preaching the gospel has its share of pitfalls, but intercessory prayer has none whatsoever.
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are not to preach the doing of good things; good deeds are not to be preached, they are to be performed. –So Send I You