第四週■週六

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晨興餧養

西四2『你們要堅定持續的禱告，在此儆醒感恩。』

徒六4『但我們要堅定持續的禱告，並盡話語的職事。』

論到堅定持續的禱告，…我們要樂意和主辦交涉，甚至向祂許願說，我們要作禱告的人。如果各召會裏的眾聖徒都和主辦這樣的交涉，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。我們堅定持續的禱告時，基督活的人位就成了我們的經歷和享受。（歌羅西書生命讀經，七二六頁。）

信息選讀

召會是否活潑、新鮮、豐富，在於這一件事：我們不斷被三一神充滿。親愛的弟兄，爲此我們首先需要樂意，其次需要倒空。…我們所需要的第三件事是隨時、不住的禱告。我們必須禱告。如果我們能作事，我們就不需要多多禱告。我們有自信、有知識、有辦法、有才幹、有力量；我們確信自己能掌控局面。我們需要倒空自己，因爲知道我們所能作的都不算數；這不僅是神所棄絕的，甚至也是神所定罪的。凡舊人所能作的，都是神所定罪的。我們必須認識這一點。然後我們就會看見我們需要神，並且會隨時、不住的禱告。

倘若你不樂意、不倒空、不禱告，我就無法幫助你；你也無法對別人有幫助。…〔我們應當禱告：〕『主，靠着你的憐憫，我是樂意的。因着你的恩典，我是倒空的。我完全倒空的向你敞開。我不願持守已往的經歷，我要新鮮。』你隨時、不住的禱告，被祂充滿，你就會經歷〔神聖的〕智慧、悟性、知識像潮水一般臨到你。…你會知道如何以神聖的性情接觸聖徒，如何以基督供應他們，如何以基督的救贖和神的審判建造他們。你也會有一種內裏的能力，在變化裏並在召會生活裏建造聖徒；不是僅僅在性格上建造他們，乃是把他們建造成爲神的居所。…要在領頭的事上豐富，我們就必須樂意、倒空且不住的禱告。

長老們來在一起的時候應當禱告，而不該僅僅討論事情。你們喜歡稱之爲交通，但也許只是討論。長老們需要禱告：將他們的心思、不同的見解，禱告到一裏。…你們應當把自己禱告到靈裏。你們在靈裏禱告，就有同一的心思，就在一裏。…甚至在牧養、看望未得救的人或聖徒時，我們也該一直在禱告裏。我們都經歷過，如果我們不住的禱告，我們去的時候就不會說我們原先以爲要說的。我們發現自己說了原先無意要說的事，我們所說的是新的。藉着不住的禱告，我們的靈得了釋放，並且我們發現自己從靈裏說話。

無論在甚麼地方，長老們極缺乏的就是不住的禱告。你們缺少禱告，所以你們缺少那靈。乃是當你們在禱告中完全被定罪時，你們對於環境、對於人、對於召會，纔能得着主的智慧和真正的領會。

基督徒的生活乃是禱告的生活。長老不是特殊的基督徒。要作正確的長老，就要作正常的基督徒。許多基督徒都不正常，因此長老應當建立正常的榜樣。…這樣，召會纔能得着建造。你們要仰望主的憐憫和恩典，盡力實行這事。（李常受文集一九八三年第一册，一○三至一○七頁。）

參讀：與長老們在實行一面的談話，第七章；使徒的教訓與新約中的領導，第二章。

WEEK 4 — DAY 6

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Morning Nourishment

Col. 4:2 Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.

Acts 6:4 But we will continue steadfastly in prayer and in the ministry of the word.

Concerning persevering in prayer,...we need to be willing to make a deal with the Lord, even to make a vow to Him, that we will be a praying people. If all the saints in all the churches make such a deal with the Lord, 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 Lord’s face. As we persevere in prayer, the living person of Christ becomes our experience and enjoyment. (Life-study of Colossians, 2nd edition, pp. 573-574)

Today’s Reading

Whether the church is living and fresh and enriched depends on this one thing: that we are being filled continuously with the Triune God. For this, dear brothers, we need first the willingness and second the emptiness. The third thing that we need is the instant, constant prayer. We must pray. If we are able to do things, we do not need to pray much. We have confidence, we have knowledge, we have a way, we have ability, we have strength: we are certain we can handle the situation. We need to empty ourselves, knowing that whatever we can do is not counted; it is not only rejected but even condemned by God. Whatever the old man can do is condemned by God. We have to realize this. Then we will see our need of God and will pray constantly and instantly.

If you are short of willingness, short of emptiness, short of prayer, I cannot help you. Nor can you be of help to others...We should pray, “Lord, by Your mercy I am willing. In Your grace I am empty. I am open to You with utter emptiness. I do not want to hold on to anything of my past experiences. I want to be fresh.” All the time, unceasingly, pray to be filled with Him. Then you will experience [divine] wisdom, understanding, and knowledge coming to you like a tide...You will know how to contact the saints with the divine nature, how to supply them with Christ, how to build them up with the redemption of Christ and with God’s judgment. You will also have an inner ability to build up the saints in transformation and in the church life; not just to build them in character but to build them up as a dwelling place for God...To be rich in the leadership, we need a willingness, an emptiness, and continuous prayer.

When the elders come together, they should pray, not just discuss things. You like to call it fellowship, but maybe it is only a discussion. The elders need to pray: to pray their mind, their different understandings, into the oneness...Pray yourselves into the spirit. When you are praying in the spirit, you have one mind; you are in oneness...Even in shepherding, in visiting either the unsaved or the saints, we should be constantly in prayer. We have all experienced that if we pray continuously, when we go, we do not speak what we thought we would. We find ourselves saying things we had no intention to say; what we say is new. By being in continuous prayer, our spirit is released, and we will find that we speak from our spirit.

The crucial lack is this continuous prayer on the part of all the elders, whatever the locality. You are short of prayer, so you are short of the Spirit. It is when you are fully condemned in your prayer that you receive wisdom and the real understanding of the Lord concerning the situation, concerning people, and concerning the church.

The Christian life is a life of prayer. Elders are not extraordinary Christians. To be a proper elder is to be a normal Christian. Many Christians are abnormal. Thus, the elders should set up a normal pattern...In this way the church can be built up. Try to practice this, looking to the Lord for His mercy and grace. (CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “Practical Talks to the Elders,” pp. 74-77)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 1, “Practical Talks to the Elders,” ch. 7; CWWL,
1989, vol. 4, “The Apostles’ Teaching and the New Testament Leadership,” ch. 2