第四週 • 週五

 w04d05-ch

晨興餧養

羅八26~27 …那靈也照樣幫同擔負我們的輭弱；我們本不曉得當怎樣禱告，只是那靈親自用說不出來的歎息，為我們代求。那鑒察人心的，曉得那靈的意思，因為祂是照着神為聖徒代求。

禱告不光是人來接觸神，也是神來接觸人。…每一個搆得上水準的禱告，定規是神人二者交流，互相接觸的禱告。神和人就如同電流一樣，是彼此交流的。你很難說禱告是單方面的神在人裏面，或者是單方面的人在神裏面。按着事實和經歷說，禱告就是神人交流。一個真實搆得上水準的禱告，定規會有一種光景，神人二者互相交流，叫人觸着神，也叫神觸着人；叫人和神有聯結，叫神也和人有聯結。所以禱告最高、最準確的一個定義，就是神人互相接觸（李常受文集一九五九年第四冊，二五頁）。

信息選讀

一個弟兄或是姊妹，若真學會了…禱告的祕訣，自然就產生一個結果，他這一個禱告的人定規是和神合作，與神同工的，也定規讓神從他裏面，藉着他把神自己和神的心意發表出來，最終成功了神的旨意。這就是羅馬八章二十六至二十七節所說的，我們本不曉得當怎樣禱告，乃是那靈在我們裏面照着神來代求。真的，我們本不曉得當怎樣禱告。我們頂多只懂得人平常所說的求告，聖經裏所說的禱告我們一點不懂得。當我初次讀到羅馬八章這兩節聖經的時候，我心裏很不以為然，我覺得當我有病的時候，豈不是禱告過求神醫治我麼？當我遭遇缺乏的時候，豈不是禱告過求神供給我麼？怎麼說我們本不曉得當怎樣禱告呢？但慢慢的，主就讓我看見，神所要求的那種禱告，我們實在一點不知道。…彀水準，摸着神心意的禱告，我們…不曉得，這就是我們的輭弱。感謝神，在這件輭弱的事上，有那靈來幫同，親自用說不出來的歎息，為我們代求。

真實的禱告都是聖靈在人裏面，藉着人發表神的心意。換句話說，真實的禱告，都是雙層人物的禱告。…不是人自己在那裏禱告神，乃是聖靈調在人裏頭、穿着人、帶着人和人一起來禱告。從外面看是人禱告，從裏面看卻又是聖靈禱告。這就是兩層的人物在同一個時候發表同一個禱告。

我們常常提起以利亞的禱告。雅各書五章十七節說，『以利亞是與我們性情相同的人，他懇切禱告，求不要降雨，雨就三年零六個月不降在地上。』這裏的懇切禱告，希臘原文的意思是他用禱告來禱告，或者說他在禱告裏來禱告。這是聖經裏一個很特別的說法。請大家記得，這就是我們所說雙層人物的禱告。當以利亞在那裏禱告的時候，他是用一個禱告來禱告，或者說他是在一個禱告裏來禱告。換句話說，他是用聖靈在他裏面的那個禱告來禱告。因此以利亞的禱告，可以說就是神在以利亞裏面求告祂自己。慕安得烈（Andrew Murray）弟兄曾說過，一個真實的禱告，乃是住在我們裏面的基督，禱告那坐在寶座上的基督。這句話聽起來很特別，好像是基督求告基督自己，但在我們的經歷中的確是這樣。

羅馬八章二十七節…說，『那靈…照着神為聖徒代求。』意思就是聖靈在我們裏面照着神來禱告，也就是神藉着祂的靈在我們裏面來禱告，所以這一個禱告定規是發表神自己，當然也發表神的心意（李常受文集一九五九年第四冊，二八至三○頁）。

參讀：李常受文集一九八二年第一冊，四三五至四四○頁。

WEEK 4—DAY 5

Morning Nourishment

Rom. 8:26-27 …In like manner the Spirit also joins in to help us in our weakness, for we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. But He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to God.

Prayer is not just man contacting God but also God contacting man…Every prayer that is up to the standard is one which is a mutual flow and contact between God and man. God and man are just like electric currents flowing into one another. It is hard to say that prayer is solely God in man or solely man in God. According to the fact and experience, prayer is the flowing between God and man. Every prayer that is truly up to the standard surely will have a condition of mutual flowing between God and man so that man may actually touch God and God may actually touch man; thus, man is united with God, and God with man. Therefore, the highest and most accurate meaning of prayer is that it is the mutual contact between God and man. (CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” pp. 19-20)

Today’s Reading 

If a brother or sister has really learned the secret of prayer,…spontaneously there will be the following result: such a praying one will certainly cooperate with God, work together with God, and allow God to express Himself and His desire from within him and through him, ultimately accomplishing God’s purpose. This is according to Romans 8:26 and 27, which tell us that we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting, but the Holy Spirit intercedes for us according to God’s purpose. Actually, we do not know how to pray. We know what people ordinarily call supplication, but we know little about the prayer that is spoken of in the Scriptures. The first time I read these two verses in Romans 8, I questioned their meaning. When I was sick, I thought, did I not pray to God asking Him to heal me? When I was in want, did I not pray to God asking Him to send me provision? How could the Scriptures say that we do not know for what we should pray as is fitting? Gradually, the Lord showed me that we really do not know anything about the kind of prayer that God desires…We do not know those prayers that touch God’s desire and are up to the standard. This is our weakness. Thank God, in this matter of our weakness, the Spirit Himself joins in to help us and intercede for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Real prayers are the Holy Spirit within man expressing God’s desire through man. In other words, real prayers are prayers involving two parties. They are not simply man alone praying to God, but they are the Spirit mingling with man, putting on man, and joining with man in prayer. Outwardly it is man praying, but inwardly it is the Spirit praying. This means that two parties express the same prayer at the same time.

We often speak of Elijah’s prayer. James 5:17 says, “Elijah was a man of like feeling with us, and he earnestly prayed that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.” Earnestly prayed in Greek means “prayed with prayer,” or “prayed in prayer.” This is a very peculiar expression in the Bible. Please remember, this is what we mean by prayer of two parties. When Elijah was praying, he was praying with, or in, a prayer. In other words, he prayed with the prayer of the Spirit within him. Thus, we can say that Elijah’s prayer was God praying to Himself in Elijah. Andrew Murray once said that a real prayer is the Christ who indwells us praying to the Christ who is sitting on the throne. That Christ would be praying to Christ Himself sounds strange, but in our experience this is really the case.

Romans 8:27 [says], “The Spirit…intercedes…according to God.” This means that the Holy Spirit prays in us according to God; that is, God prays in us through His Spirit. Thus, such a prayer certainly expresses God’s intention as well as God Himself. (CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” pp. 22-23)

Further Reading: CWWL, 1982, vol. 1, pp. 353-357