0824 靈性探索
你們中間，誰有兒子求餅，反給他石頭呢？ 《馬太福音 7:9》
我們的主在這裡用來說明禱告的例子是其中一個好孩子在求一些好的東西。我們談論禱告，好像無論我們與神的關係如何，祂都會垂聽我們的禱告（見馬太福音 5:45）。永遠不要說神的旨意不給你你所求的東西。不要灰心放棄，而是找出你沒有得到的原因；要增加探索的強度和查驗證據。你與配偶、孩子和同學的關係正確嗎？在這些關係中，你是一個「好孩子」嗎？你是否需要對主說：「我一直很暴躁易怒，但我還是想得到屬靈的祝福？」你無法得到祝福，也必須沒有它們，除非你有「好孩子」的態度。
我們將反抗誤認為是奉獻，與神爭論而非降服。我們拒絕查看那些清楚表明我們錯誤的證據。我是否一直求神給我錢去買我想要的某物，卻拒絕償還我欠某人的錢？我是否一直向神求自由，然而卻不給某個屬於我的人的自由權？我是否拒絕原諒某人，並對那個人不友善？我是否一直像神的孩子般活在親戚和朋友面前？（參見馬太福音7:12）
我只有通過重生，才能成為神的孩子，而作為祂的兒女，只有當我「行在光明中」，我才是良善的（約翰一書 1:7）。對於我們大多數人來說，禱告只是某種瑣碎的宗教表達，是與神的神秘與情感的相交，我們都擅長製造靈霧遮蓋我們的視覺。但如果我們尋找並查驗證據，我們就會非常清楚地看到哪裡出了問題——一段友誼、一筆未償還的債或一種不正確的態度。除非我們以神的兒女身份生活，生活若不像神的兒女，否則禱告是沒有意義的。然後耶穌談到關於祂的孩子們時說：「凡祈求的，就得着…」（馬太福音 7:8）。
來自章伯斯的智慧
亞伯拉罕的一生是兩件事的例證：毫無保留地降服於神，以及神為了祂自己至高目的而完全擁有祂的孩子。《不知往何處去》
0824 The Spiritual Search
What man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? —Matthew 7:9
The illustration of prayer that our Lord used here is one of a good child who is asking for something good. We talk about prayer as if God hears us regardless of what our relationship is to Him (see Matthew 5:45). Never say that it is not God’s will to give you what you ask. Don’t faint and give up, but find out the reason you have not received; increase the intensity of your search and examine the evidence. Is your relationship right with your spouse, your children, and your fellow students? Are you a “good child” in those relationships? Do you have to say to the Lord, “I have been irritable and cross, but I still want spiritual blessings”? You cannot receive and will have to do without them until you have the attitude of a “good child.”
We mistake defiance for devotion, arguing with God instead of surrendering. We refuse to look at the evidence that clearly indicates where we are wrong. Have I been asking God to give me money for something I want, while refusing to pay someone what I owe him? Have I been asking God for liberty while I am withholding it from someone who belongs to me? Have I refused to forgive someone, and have I been unkind to that person? Have I been living as God’s child among my relatives and friends? (see Matthew 7:12).
I am a child of God only by being born again, and as His child I am good only as I “walk in the light” (1 John 1:7). For most of us, prayer simply becomes some trivial religious expression, a matter of mystical and emotional fellowship with God. We are all good at producing spiritual fog that blinds our sight. But if we will search out and examine the evidence, we will see very clearly what is wrong— a friendship, an unpaid debt, or an improper attitude. There is no use praying unless we are living as children of God. Then Jesus says, regarding His children, “Everyone who asks receives…” (Matthew 7:8).
WISDOM FROM OSWALD CHAMBERS
The life of Abraham is an illustration of two things: of unreserved surrender to God, and of God’s complete possession of a child of His for His own highest end. –Not Knowing Whither