0504 同感性代禱
…我們既因耶穌的血得以坦然進入至聖所…《希伯來書 10:19》
要謹防認為代禱意味着將我們個人的同情和關切帶到神的面前，然後要求祂做我們所求的一切。我們接近神的能力完全歸功於我們的主對罪的同感或替代性的認同。我們是「因耶穌的血得以坦然進入至聖所。」
靈性上的固執是代禱最有效的阻礙，因為它是基於對我們在自己和他人身上看到事物的同情性「理解」，我們認為那些事物不需要贖罪。我們認為我們每個人身上都有某些善良和美德的東西，那些是不需要以基督十字架的贖罪為基礎。正是這種思想所產生的遲鈍和缺乏興趣，使得我們無法代禱。我們不認同神對他人的興趣和關心，並對神感到惱怒。然而，我們總是準備好有自己的想法，我們的代禱變成只會美化我們天生的同情心。我們必須意識到，耶穌與罪的認同意味着我們所有的同情心和興趣的徹底改變。同感代禱意味着我們故意用神對他人的關心來替換我們對他們天然的同情。
我是固執還是被替代？我與神的關係是被寵壞了還是完整的？我是易怒還是屬靈的？我是決心走自己的路還是決心與祂認同？
來自章伯斯的智慧
安慰者的位置不是傳道者的位置，而是那位什麼都沒說，卻為這事向神禱告的夥伴的。對於那些正在受苦的人，你能做的最大之事，不是說些陳腔濫調，也不是提問問題，而是與神聯繫，「更大的事」將通過禱告做成。（參見約翰福音 14:12-13）《力圖更佳戰鬥》
0504 Vicarious Intercession
…having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus… —Hebrews 10:19
Beware of thinking that intercession means bringing our own personal sympathies and concerns into the presence of God, and then demanding that He do whatever we ask. Our ability to approach God is due entirely to the vicarious, or substitutionary, identification of our Lord with sin. We have “boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus.”
Spiritual stubbornness is the most effective hindrance to intercession, because it is based on a sympathetic “understanding” of things we see in ourselves and others that we think needs no atonement. We have the idea that there are certain good and virtuous things in each of us that do not need to be based on the atonement by the Cross of Christ. Just the sluggishness and lack of interest produced by this kind of thinking makes us unable to intercede. We do not identify ourselves with God’s interests and concerns for others, and we get irritated with Him. Yet we are always ready with our own ideas, and our intercession becomes only the glorification of our own natural sympathies. We have to realize that the identification of Jesus with sin means a radical change of all of our sympathies and interests. Vicarious intercession means that we deliberately substitute God’s interests in others for our natural sympathy with them.
Am I stubborn or substituted? Am I spoiled or complete in my relationship to God? Am I irritable or spiritual? Am I determined to have my own way or determined to be identified with Him?
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The place for the comforter is not that of one who preaches, but of the comrade who says nothing, but prays to God about the matter. The biggest thing you can do for those who are suffering is not to talk platitudes, not to ask questions, but to get into contact with God, and the “greater works” will be done by prayer (see John 14:12–13). –Baffled to Fight Better, 56 R