第四篇   爲着正確召會生活的正確禱告生活

w04-outline-ch

詩歌：569

讀經：提前二1 ～ 4、8，出二八29 ～ 30，三一1 ～3，西四2

【週一】

壹 『所以我勸你，第一要爲萬人祈求、禱告、代求、感謝；爲君王和一切有權位的也該如此，使我們可以十分敬虔莊重的過平靜安寧的生活。這在我們的救主神面前，是美好且蒙悅納的』—提前二1 ～ 3：

一 保羅說到神的經綸，並囑咐提摩太要爲神的經綸打那美好的仗（一3 ～ 4、18）以後，指明禱告的職事乃是地方召會行政和牧養的先決條件（二1 ～ 3、8）。

二 今天在主的恢復裏要有正確召會生活的先決條件，是要有禱告的生活；正確的召會乃是禱告的召會；所有在主恢復裏的人都必須多多禱告，並抵擋不禱告的罪—撒上十二23。

三 召會中的長老必須接受保羅的囑咐，『第一』要禱告（提前二1）；在眾地方召會中領頭的人，
必須有禱告的生活；我們若操練自己有禱告的生活，召會就會活潑且拔高。

四 我們不該說這麼多，甚至不該作這麼多，乃該更多禱告；我們爲一件事透徹禱告以後，纔可以爲這事作決定，並非單憑我們自己，乃與主是一並照着祂的引導而作決定。

【週二】

五 『代求』原文意，個人傾心吐意的親近神；卽在神面前關心別人的事，爲他們求益處。

六 『最近，我的活動暫時受限制，使我能休息，並顧到我的健康。我聽見某些需要，就爲這些需要禱告。可能主限制我，使我對禱告比工作更重要的這事實有深刻的印象。願我們都學習這功課：要有美好召會生活的路乃是禱告。這是要緊的。我們的談話若轉爲禱告，我們所在地的召會就會變化』—提摩太前書生命讀經，三五頁。

七 我們該爲萬人禱告，因爲我們的救主神願意萬人得救，並且完全認識真理；神的願望需要我們的禱告使其實現—提前二4。

八 『我願男人無忿怒，無爭論，舉起虔聖的手，隨處禱告』—8 節：

1 手象徵我們的所作所爲；因此，虔聖的手表徵虔聖的生活，就是虔誠屬於神，聖的生活；這樣聖的生活，能加強我們禱告的生活。

2 倘若我們的手不聖，我們的生活就不是聖而爲着神的；我們的禱告就沒有支持的力量，在禱告中就沒有虔聖的手可以舉起。

3 忿怒與爭論殺死我們的禱告；忿怒是出於我們的情感，爭論是出於我們的心思。

4 要有禱告的生活，並且不住的禱告，我們的情感和心思就必須規律到正常的情況，受我們靈中那靈的管治。

【週三】

貳 長老們要被神的指示所灌注，以照料召會，就必須有多而徹底的禱告，好進入『讀聖徒』的實際裏，正如舊約裏的大祭司在神面前，憑烏陵和土明讀胸牌上的寶石一樣—出二八29 ～ 30：

一 烏陵和土明放在胸牌裏，胸牌就不僅作爲記念，也成爲決斷的胸牌—30 節：

1 『烏陵』意思是『光』，『照明物』—30 節：

a 烏陵是一種照明物，安在胸牌裏面十二塊寶石底下，能裝油以供燃燒，而用以燃燒這油的火是來自祭壇。

b 烏陵有十二個照明物，每一個照亮胸牌上十二塊透明寶石中的一塊， 使寶石能發出光來（David Baron，巴倫）。

c 烏陵豫表基督作爲光， 照明者（ 約八12， 路一78 ～ 79），藉着那靈（油）和十字架（來自祭壇的火）而照耀。

2 『土明』意思是『成全者』，『完成者』—出二八30：

a 胸牌十二塊寶石上的名字，僅包含希伯來文二十二個字母中的十八個；其餘的四個字母安在土明上，使土明成爲成全者和完成者（David Baron，巴倫）。

b 藉着烏陵照亮個別的寶石，也藉着一些寶石變暗了，全部二十二個字母就可用來拼出單字和句子。

c 土明豫表基督是成全者和完成者（來十二2）；如此，祂是屬靈的字母，爲着書寫，也爲着完成（參啓二二13 上）。

d 烏陵和土明一起豫表基督是神的見證人，神的見證（三14），是神對祂子民說話的憑藉（來一2）。

【週四】

e 在新約，烏陵和土明的實際乃是調和的靈，就是神揭示的靈（聖靈）內住於我們接受的靈（我們重生之人的靈）—羅八4、14、16，啓一10，四2，十七3，二一10。

二 按照舊約，烏陵和土明加到胸牌上，是神對祂子民說話的憑藉，向他們指明祂的引導；因此我們可以說，決斷的胸牌乃是『引導的胸牌』—利八8，民二七21，申三三8，書七16 ～ 21，撒上二三6、9 ～ 12，二八6，拉二63，尼七65。

三 在屬靈的經歷中，我們要知道神的引導，就必須審判凡出於肉體、己、舊人和世界的一切；神乃是藉着胸牌說話作爲祂的引導，這表徵神藉着召會使祂的子民認識祂的引導。

四 表明神引導的決斷胸牌，功用就像屬天、神聖、屬靈的打字機一樣，神藉着帶有烏陵和土明的胸牌來說話的方式，與我們所期待的正好相反：

1 神不是藉着發亮的寶石說話，而是藉着變暗的寶石說話；這意思是說，神是藉着消極的光景說話；因爲主憑決斷胸牌的說話是藉着消極的光景，這樣的說話就是一種決斷。

【週五】

2 按正常的情形來說，胸牌裏的十二塊寶石都在烏陵的照耀之下；忽然間刻着某個名字的寶石變暗了，這塊寶石變暗就是神卽時的說話：

a 保羅的書信以及主耶穌給亞西亞七個召會的七封書信（啓二～三）都是根據這個原則寫的；這些書信不是根據召會裏積極的事情寫的，而是根據召會消極的光景寫的。

b 保羅照着他對哥林多消極的光景所讀出來的，寫了哥林多前書；雖然他的著作是基於消極的事情，但在這封書信裏，他卻把積極的東西—基督的豐富—服事給召會—參一9。

c 哥林多的聖徒成了保羅寫信時所用屬靈打字機的字母；同樣的，在一個地方召會裏，領頭的人必須讀出聖徒真實的情況和光景，來尋求主的引導。

d 今天基督徒中間的難處乃是因着有太多的黑暗，神就無法來暴露黑暗；要顯明黑暗，首先必須有光的照耀；神是藉着在光的照耀中一些變爲消極的事來說話—參弗五8 ～ 9。

e 我們這樣來讀消極的光景，就曉得神的引導，神的決斷；然後在我們所在的地方，我們就會曉得神要我們作甚麼，然後我們就該跟隨祂的引導。

五 胸牌就是身體生活的建造，也是我們知道神對祂子民旨意的憑藉；藉着多而徹底的禱告，我們得以經歷胸牌的實際；然後我們纔能接受主的判斷，知道我們該作甚麼或不該作甚麼；我們會認識主的道路，然後全召會就能按主的判斷往前去。

六 長老不僅要有聖經，還要有聖靈，並要有眾弟兄姊妹作字母；這意思是，他們需要把弟兄姊妹懷搋到神面前，在神面前讀每一位弟兄姊妹的光景；這樣，長老聚會就成爲全召會的『守望臺』；長老們就可以知道，在召會生活中，神要他們怎麼作，以及神當前的旨意是甚麼。

【週六】

叁 領頭的人，那些在召會中服事話語的人，該領頭有禱告的生活；他們必須『堅定持續的禱告，在此儆醒感恩』—西四2，徒六4：

一 召會是否活潑、新鮮、豐富，在於這一件事—我們不斷被那靈充滿；我們要不斷被那靈充滿，就需要是樂意、倒空並禱告的人—腓二13，太五3、8，路一53，弗五18。

二 建造召會的尊貴工作所需要的智慧、悟性、知識和技巧，必須是對我們成了那靈的神自己；惟有神的靈纔能藉着我們建造祂自己的居所—出三一1 ～ 3，亞四6。

三 長老們缺少禱告，所以缺少那靈；乃是當我們在禱告中，在主內住同在之光的照耀下，完全被定罪時，我們對於環境、對於人、對於召會，纔能得着主的智慧和真正的領會。

四 如果各召會裏的眾聖徒都堅定持續的禱告，主的恢復就會大大的得着豐富並被拔高；不僅如此，眾聖徒也會享受主，享受主的同在和祂卽時並常時的膏油塗抹；他們會終日享受主的笑臉，基督活的人位會成爲他們的經歷和享受。

Message Four

A Proper Prayer Life for a Proper Church Life

w04-outline-en

Hymns: 786

Scripture Reading: 1 Tim. 2:1-4, 8; Exo. 28:29-30; 31:1-3; Col. 4:2

§ Day 1

I. "I exhort therefore, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercessions, thanksgivings be made on behalf of all men; on behalf of kings and all who are in high position, that we may lead a quiet and tranquil life in all godliness and gravity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of our Savior God"—1 Tim. 2:1-3:

A. After speaking of Gods economy and after charging Timothy to war the good warfare for Gods economy (1:3-4,18), Paul indicates that a prayer ministry is the prerequisite for the administrating and shepherding of a local church (2:1-3, 8).

B. A prerequisite for having a proper church life in the Lords recovery today is to have a prayer life; a proper church is a praying church; all in the Lords recovery must be prayerful and stand against the sin of prayerlessness—1 Sam. 12:23.

C. The elders in the church must take up Pauls charge to "first of all" pray (1 Tim. 2:1); those who take the lead in the churches must have a prayer life; if we exercise ourselves to have a prayer life, the church will be living and uplifted.

D. Instead of talking so much and even instead of working so much, we should pray more; only after we have prayed for a matter thoroughly should we make a decision concerning it, not by ourselves independently, but in oneness with the Lord and according to His leading.

§ Day 2

E. The Greek word for intercessions denotes an approaching of God in a personal and confiding manner, that is, an intervening, an interfering, before God in others affairs for their benefit.

F. "Recently, my activity was limited for a time so that I could rest and care for my health. When I heard about certain needs, I prayed for them. Perhaps the Lord limited me that He might impress me with the fact that prayer is more important than work. May we all learn the lesson that the way to have a good church life is to pray. This is crucial. If our talking is turned into praying, the church in our locality will be transformed"—Lifestudy of 1 Timothy, second edition, p. 28.

G. We should pray on behalf of all men because God our Savior desires all men to be saved and to come to the full knowledge of the truth; our prayer is required for the carrying out of Gods desire—1 Tim. 2:4.

H. "I desire therefore that men pray in every place, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and reasoning"—v. 8:

1. Hands symbolize our doings; hence, holy hands signify a holy living, a living that is pious and that belongs to God; such a holy life strengthens our prayer life.

2. If our hands are not holy, our living is not holy and is not for God; we then have no supporting strength to pray, no holy hands to lift up in prayer.

3. Wrath and reasoning kill our prayer; wrath is of our emotion, and reasoning is of our mind.

4. To have a prayer life and pray unceasingly, our emotion and mind must be regulated to be in a normal condition, under the control of the Spirit in our spirit.

§ Day 3

II. In order to be infused with the instruction of God to care for the church, the elders must have much and thorough prayer so that they can enter into the reality of "reading the saints," just as the high priest in the Old Testament read the stones on the breastplate with the Urim and Thummim in the presence of God—Exo. 28:29-30:

A. After the Urim and the Thummim were put into the breastplate, it became not only a memorial but also a breastplate of judgment—v. 30:

1. Urim means "lights," "illuminators"—v. 30:

a. The Urim was an illuminator inserted into the breastplate under the twelve stones; it had the capacity to contain oil for burning, and the fire used to burn the oil came from the altar.

b. The Urim had twelve illuminators, one to illuminate each of the twelve transparent precious stones on the breastplate so that they could shine with light (David Baron).

c. The Urim typifies Christ as lights, illuminators (John 8:12; Luke 1:78- 79), shining through the Spirit (the oil) and the cross (the fire from
the altar).

2. Thummim means "perfecters," "completers"—Exo. 28:30:

a. The names on the twelve stones on the breastplate contained only eighteen of the twenty-two letters of the Hebrew alphabet; the remaining four letters were put on the Thummim, making it the perfecter and completer (David Baron).

b. By the shining of the Urim on the individual precious stones and by the darkening of the stones, the full alphabet of twenty-two letters could be used to spell out words and sentences.

c. The Thummim typifies Christ as the perfecter and completer (Heb. 12:2); thus, He is the spiritual alphabet for both inscribing and completing (cf. Rev. 22:13a).

d. Together, the Urim and the Thummim typify Christ as Gods witness, Gods testimony (3:14), as the means for God to speak to His people (Heb. 1:2).

§ Day 4

e. In the New Testament, the reality of the Urim and the Thummim is the mingled spirit—the unveiling Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, indwelling our receiving spirit, our regenerated human spirit—Rom. 8:4, 14, 16; Rev. 1:10; 4:2; 17:3; 21:10.

B. According to the Old Testament, the Urim and the Thummim added to the breastplate were a means for God to speak to His people to indicate to them His leading; thus, we may say that the breastplate of judgment is a "breastplate of leading"—Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21; Deut. 33:8; Josh. 7:16-21; 1 Sam. 23:6, 9-12; 28:6; Ezra 2:63; Neh. 7:65.

C. In spiritual experience, in order to know Gods leading we must judge whatever is of the flesh, the self, the old man, and the world; the fact that Gods speaking as His leading was through the breastplate signifies that God makes His leading known to His people through the church.

D. The breastplate of judgment for Gods leading was like a heavenly, divine, and spiritual typewriter, and His way of speaking through the breastplate with the Urim and the Thummim is the opposite of what we would expect:

1. God speaks not through the stones that are shining but through the stones that become dark; this means that God speaks through negative situations; because the Lords speaking by the breastplate of judgment is through negative situations, that speaking is a judgment.

§ Day 5

2. Normally the twelve stones in the breastplate were under the shining of the Urim; suddenly a piece inscribed with a certain name would become dark; this darkening of a particular stone was Gods instant speaking:

a. Pauls Epistles and the seven epistles of the Lord Jesus to the seven churches in Asia (Rev. 2—3) were all written according to this principle; they were written according to the negative situation of the churches, not according to the positive things found in the churches.

b. Paul wrote 1 Corinthians according to his reading of the negative situation at Corinth, but although his writing was based on the negative things, in this Epistle he ministered positive things—the riches of Christ—to the church—cf. 1:9.

c. The saints in Corinth became the letters used by Paul in the spiritual typesetting of his Epistle; in the same way, in a local church the leading ones need to seek the Lords guidance by reading the actual situation and condition of the saints.

d. The problem among Christians today is that because there is so much darkness, there is no way for God to expose the darkness; in order for the darkness to be made known, there must first be the shining of the light; God speaks through things that become negative in the midst of the shining of the light—cf. Eph. 5:8-9.

e. By reading the negative situations in this way, we come to know Gods leading, His judgment; then in our locality we will know what God wants us to do, and we should then follow His leading.

E. The breastplate is the building up of the Body life and the means for us to know Gods will concerning His people; by much and thorough prayer, we can experience the reality of the breastplate; then we will receive the Lords judgment of what we have to do or what we must not do; we will know the Lords way, and the whole church will go on according to the judgment given by the Lord.

F. The elders need not only the Bible and the Holy Spirit but also the brothers and sisters as the alphabet; this means that they need to bear the brothers and sisters before God and read the condition of every brother and sister before God; in this way the elders meeting will become the watchtower of the church, and the elders will know what God wants them to do and what Gods present will is in the church life.

§ Day 6

III. The leading ones, those who minister the word in the church, should take the lead to have a prayer life; they need to "persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving"— Col. 4:2; Acts 6:4:

A. Whether the church is living and fresh and enriched depends on this one thing—that we are being filled continuously with the Spirit; in order to be filled continuously with the Spirit, we need to be those who are willing, empty, and praying—Phil. 2:13; Matt. 5:3, 8; Luke 1:53; Eph. 5:18.

B. The wisdom, understanding, knowledge, and skill for the noble work of building up the church must be God Himself as the Spirit to us; only the Spirit of God can build His own dwelling place through us—Exo. 31:1-3; Zech. 4:6.

C. Because the elders are short of prayer, they are short of the Spirit; it is when we
are fully condemned in our prayer under the shining of the light of the Lords indwelling presence that we receive wisdom and the real understanding of the Lord concerning the situation, concerning people, and concerning the church.

D. If all the saints in all the churches persevere in prayer, the recovery will be greatly enriched and uplifted; furthermore, the saints will enjoy the Lord, His presence, and His instant and constant anointing; all day long they will enjoy the smile of the Lords face, and the living person of Christ will become their experience and enjoyment.