0427 你想要什么？
你为自己图谋大事吗？ 《耶利米书 45:5》
你是在为自己图谋大事，而非追求成为一个伟大的人吗？神要你与祂自己建立更亲密的关系，多过只是接受祂的礼物——祂要你认识祂。即使我们想要的一些大事也只是偶然发生的，它来了又去了。但神从来不给我们任何偶然之事物；没有什么比与神建立正确的关系更容易的了，除非你所寻求的不是神，而是祂能给你的东西。
如果你只向神祈求一些东西，你从来就没有理解降服的真正含义；你已经根据自己的条款成为基督徒。你抗议说：「我向神祈求圣灵，但祂没有给我所期望的安息和平安。」神立刻指出了原因：你根本没有寻求主，你是在为自己寻求某些事物。耶稣说：「你们祈求，就给你们。」（马太福音 7:7）。向神祈求你想要的东西，不要担心祈求错误的东西，因为当你越来越亲近祂时，你就会完全停止祈求事物。 「你们没有祈求以先，你们所需用的，你们的父早已知道了。」（马太福音 6:8）。那你为什么应该求呢？为了你可以认识祂。
你在为自己图谋大事吗？你曾否说过：「主啊，请以袮的圣灵完全充满我」？如果神没有这样做，那是因为你还没有完全降服于祂，还有些事情是你仍然拒绝去做的。你预备好问自己你想从神那里得到什么以及为什么要得到吗？神总是无视你目前的完全性，而偏好你未来终极的完全。祂并不关心让你现在蒙福和快乐，而是不断地为你实现祂的终极完全——「使他们合而为一，像我们合而为一。」（约翰福音17:22）
来自章伯斯的智慧
我们在黑暗中才是真实的我们；其他一切都是名誉。神看的是我们在黑暗中的所是：我们思维中的想象，内心的思想，身体的习惯；这些是在神眼中标记我们的事情。《神的爱——不被注意的事工》
0427 What Do You Want?
Do you seek great things for yourself? —Jeremiah 45:5
Are you seeking great things for yourself, instead of seeking to be a great person? God wants you to be in a much closer relationship with Himself than simply receiving His gifts— He wants you to get to know Him. Even some large thing we want is only incidental; it comes and it goes. But God never gives us anything incidental. There is nothing easier than getting into the right relationship with God, unless it is not God you seek, but only what He can give you.
If you have only come as far as asking God for things, you have never come to the point of understanding the least bit of what surrender really means. You have become a Christian based on your own terms. You protest, saying, “I asked God for the Holy Spirit, but He didn’t give me the rest and the peace I expected.” And instantly God puts His finger on the reason– you are not seeking the Lord at all; you are seeking something for yourself. Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you…” (Matthew 7:7). Ask God for what you want and do not be concerned about asking for the wrong thing, because as you draw ever closer to Him, you will cease asking for things altogether. “Your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him” (Matthew 6:8). Then why should you ask? So that you may get to know Him.
Are you seeking great things for yourself? Have you said, “Oh, Lord, completely fill me with your Holy Spirit”? If God does not, it is because you are not totally surrendered to Him; there is something you still refuse to do. Are you prepared to ask yourself what it is you want from God and why you want it? God always ignores your present level of completeness in favor of your ultimate future completeness. He is not concerned about making you blessed and happy right now, but He’s continually working out His ultimate perfection for you— “…that they may be one just as We are one…” (John 17:22).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
We are only what we are in the dark; all the rest is reputation. What God looks at is what we are in the dark—the imaginations of our minds; the thoughts of our heart; the habits of our bodies; these are the things that mark us in God’s sight. The Love of God—The Ministry of the Unnoticed, 669 L