“（他们）都恒心…祈祷。” – 徒2:42
我不知道你怎么想，但这一点真的很难。他们都在恒心祈祷？我是一名牧师，我经常需要祈祷，但有时恒心很难。我可能在祈祷几分钟后，突然想到修剪草坪的事。我们祷告的时候很容易分心。
然而这群早期的信徒却能恒心祈祷！这意味着他们始终如一地、有规律地来到神面前祈求。但是，他们是否在做我们经常做的事情：把我们的需求和忧虑列出来？还是另有别的方式?
我和很多人谈论过祈祷，我经常听到这样的话:我祷告了，但没有用。我求神医治我姑姑的病，祂没有应允，等等……难道这就是祈祷的意义吗？其实，这仅仅是一部份，但并不止于此。耶稣的早期信徒认识到他们力量和盼望的来源在于神。对他们来说，祷告就是在神面前献上自己的生命，在神呼召他们做的任何事上都全心全意来服事祂。
我们很容易陷入这样的思维陷阱，认为上帝就像装在瓶子里的精灵，好像我们只要祈祷就能即刻兑现我们想要的一切。
关于祷告，神真正想要的是听到我们说出内心的真实想法，然后让我们去学习倾听祂的声音。
祷告
神啊，求你帮助我们更加明白祷告的意义。藉着你的灵，帮助我与你连接，与你交谈，倾听你的话语。引导我忠实地跟随你的呼召。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿们。
腓立比书 4:4-7
4你们要靠主常常喜乐，我再说，你们要喜乐！
5当叫众人知道你们谦让的心。主已经近了。
6应当一无挂虑，只要凡事藉着祷告、祈求和感谢，将你们所要的告诉神。
7神所赐出人意外的平安，必在基督耶稣里保守你们的心怀意念。
Not A Genie In A Bottle
“They devoted themselves . . . to prayer.” – Acts 2:42
I don’t know about you, but this one is really hard. They devoted themselves to prayer? I’m a pastor, and I often am expected to pray, but that can be so hard at times. I can be a few minutes into my time of prayer, and boom—I’m thinking about mowing the lawn. It’s easy to get distracted when we pray.
And yet this group of early believers devoted themselves to prayer! This means they consistently and regularly were going to God. But were they doing what we often do: bringing our lists of needs and concerns? Or were they doing something else?
I talk to lots of people about prayer, and I often hear this: I tried praying, and it didn’t work. I asked God to heal my aunt’s illness, and he didn’t answer. And so on. But is that what prayer is about? Well, that’s a part of it, but there is more. Jesus’ early followers recognized that their source of strength and hope was God. For them, prayer was about laying down their lives before God and being open to serve him in whatever he called them to do.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that God is like a genie in a bottle, as if we could just pray and be granted whatever we wished for.
When it comes to prayer, what God truly wants is to hear about what is going on in our hearts—and then for us to listen.
Prayer
God, help me to grow in my understanding of prayer. By your Spirit, help me to connect with you, talk with you, and listen to you. Guide me to follow you faithfully. In Jesus, Amen.
诵读: 骆云秀
片头: 张妙阳
