为你的祷告生活注入活力：六样事实  6REALITIES TO REINVIGORATE YOUR PRAYER LIFE

作者：William Boekestein   译者：诚之

https://corechristianity.com/resource-library/articles/6-realities-to-reinvigorate-your-prayer-life/
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/GXff14b1X138_sY5xg_aaA

1845年，传道士威廉·沃尔福德（William Walford）向全世界介绍了一首新赞美诗《祷告良辰》（Sweet hour of prayer）。在第二节中，他写道：

祷告良辰祷告良辰。使我离开世事操心；

引我到父施恩座前，将我心愿向父说明。

每逢痛苦忧愁之时，我灵在主前得安息，

试探罗网得以脱离，我惟靠此祷告良辰。

读完这些文字后，我们当中有些人可能会怀疑我们是否曾经真正祈祷过！老实说：祷告并不总是莫大的幸福。我们不总是充满喜乐地快跑来到上帝宝座前祷告。我们都不会连续祷告一小时。我们甚至不晓得当怎样祷告（罗八26–27）。

我们不是第一个做出这些忏悔的人。在十七世纪中叶，一群英国教会领袖聚在一起，为他们所牧养的基督徒编写教材。这次会议的成果之一就是《威斯敏斯特小要理问答》（1647年）。这份文件提供了有关基督徒生活的107个简单而永恒的问答（Q/ A）。小要理问答中有两个问答为我们介绍了主祷文，帮助我们把生气吹进到我们有时干旱的祷告习惯里。

《威斯敏斯特小要理问答》第98问：祷告是什么？

回答：祷告是向神祈求心中所愿，合乎上帝的旨意，是奉基督的名，并承认自己的罪，也为神诸般的怜悯献上感恩。

1.「祷告是向神祈求心中所愿。」

我们不应当把「心中所愿」理解为「我们想要的东西」。上帝是天父，乐意向那些提出要求的人赐下精美的礼物（路加福音十一13）。但是，祷告不是在写一份圣诞节想得到的礼物的清单。藉着祷告，我们向上帝倾吐内心最深切的渴望（诗六十二8）。祷告绝不仅仅是宗教习惯或无聊的购物清单，而是我们诚心地对上帝的应许作出回应——祂应许要聆听我们内心深处的渴望。

2. 祷告是祈求「合乎上帝旨意的事」。

约翰写道：「我们若照祂的旨意求什么，祂就听我们，这是我们向祂所存坦然无惧的心。」（约壹五14）。为了正确地祈祷，我们必须认识上帝以及祂对我们的要求。我的孩子们知道，在超市里索要棉花糖绝对是白费功夫的，因为我每次都会拒绝。他们已经认识到，求我为他们读一本故事书会更有成效。对上帝来说，事情并不那么单纯。祂是在一个与我们不同的智慧层面上运作，但祂已经向我们启示了祂的旨意。对上帝旨意无知的祷告（例如：「助我赢得彩票；」「助我报复我妻子」等）并不会榮耀祂，而且是在浪费精力。

3. 祷告是「奉基督的名」而求。

耶稣在约翰福音十四～十六章中至少有五次教导神的儿女们奉祂的名向天父祈祷。「你们若奉我的名求什么，我必成就。」（约十四14）。这并不是说基督徒的每个祷告都必须以相同的方式结束：「奉耶稣的名，阿们。」神的儿子的名号并不是用来开启天国财富的密码。耶稣的意思是我们必须藉由与神的儿子建立生命的关系，来向父祷告。这就是「奉我的名」在圣经中的运作方式。在旧约中，真正的先知总是奉神的名说话，也就是与祂的心意保持一致（例如申十八19）。奉耶稣的名祈求，就意味着深深依赖基督已完成的工作来到上帝面前。

4. 祷告包括「承认自己的罪，也为神诸般的怜悯献上感恩」。

忏悔和感恩都是祷告所必要的心态，因为它们反映了每个信徒的真实经验。我们祈求神的赦免，因为我们知道我们是罪人，而只有上帝可以赦罪。忏悔并不会使信徒重新得到上帝的恩宠；那些属祂的人不能减少祂对我们的爱（约十七23）。我们认自己的罪，因为谦卑的心是靠近圣洁的神唯一合适的方法（参见诗卅二5-6；但九4-19；约壹一9）。确信祂会怜悯我们，我们为祂悦纳我们，并以祂的恩慈赐福与我们而感谢祂（诗一〇三1-5，一三六1-26；腓四6）。

《威斯敏斯特小要理问答》第98问：我们该如何祷告？

回答：整本圣经都在指教我们怎样祷告，尤其是主祷文，就是基督教导他的门徒时所用的，是我们祷告的准则。

5. 「整本圣经都在指教我们怎样祷告」。

在祷告学校里，圣经是我们的教科书。我们的祷告往往表明我们从圣经中饮用了多久的水、取的水有多深。这并不代表最好的祷告都是最时髦的；圣经中的许多祷告都是很简单的求助（例如，尼十三22）或内心迸发出来的赞美（例如，诗一一七），但是当我们沉浸在神的话语中时，我们的心就会开始学习圣经祷告的语言。

许多基督徒发现将每天所读的经文精炼成祷告的重点会有很大帮助。有时我们可以直接用上帝的圣言祷告。当我们透过「在基督里的应验」这个镜片来阅读时，诗篇尤其可以作为一本优美的祷告手册。

6. 「尤其是主祷文……是我们祷告的准则」。

耶稣说出祂著名的祷告（路十一2-4），以回应门徒的要求：「求主教导我们祷告」（路十一1）。从那之后，基督徒就都用主的祷告文来作为祷词。有些人会对使用一种固定形式的祷文而感到不安，好像这样做就是像外邦人「用许多重复话」的一个例子（太六7），那是徒劳无功的。即便使用主祷文，也可能徒劳无功，但可以肯定的是，空洞的重复和良好的重复，两者之间是有区别的（腓三1）。例如，在《诗篇》136篇中，朝拜者重复「因祂的慈爱永远长存！」这一短语多达26次。《威斯敏斯特大要理问答》大有裨益地建议我们，主祷文不仅应当用来作为其他祷告的模板，「它本身也可以作为一个祷告」（Q / A 187）。

主耶稣在祷告中示范了虔诚的祷告像什么样子：祷告应以上帝为中心，以国度为焦点。它必须包括认罪和感恩，感谢上帝对我们的供应。通过祷告，我们必须为我们肉体和灵魂的所需而祈求，以便我们在这个堕落的世界中能够如天国的孩童一般，全心信靠天父来生活。耶稣的序言，六个祈求，以及结论，为我们提供了丰富的祷告模板，帮助我们在祷告中成长。

祷告并不总是那么容易（为什么祷告就应该很容易呢？）。但是，随着我们在祷告的操练上不断成长，向上帝倾吐我们内心的想法就可以成为丰富的经历。

6 REALITIES TO REINVIGORATE YOUR PRAYER LIFE

William Boekestein 

In 1845 preacher William Walford introduced to the world a new hymn. In the second stanza, he wrote,

“Sweet hour of prayer! Sweet hour of prayer! The joys I feel, the bliss I share, of those whose anxious spirits burn with strong desires for thy return! With such I hasten to the place where God my Savior shows his face and gladly take my station there and wait for thee, sweet hour of prayer!”

After reading those words some of us might wonder if we’ve ever actually prayed! Let’s be honest: Prayer is not always bliss. We don’t hasten to it gladly. We don’t pray for an hour. We don’t even know what to pray for (Rom. 8:26–27).

We’re not the first people to make these confessions. In the mid-seventeenth century, a group of British church leaders met to develop instructional materials for the Christians under their care. One of the products of that meeting was the Westminster Shorter Catechism (1647). This document offers 107 simple and timeless questions and answers (Q/A) about the Christian life. The catechism’s two questions introducing the Lord’s Prayer can help breathe life into our sometimes-arid prayer habits.

What is prayer? (Q/A 98)

“Prayer Is Offering Our Desires to God”

“Desires” should not be misunderstood as “stuff we want.” God is a Father who delights in giving good gifts to those who ask (Luke 11:13). However, prayer is not like writing a Christmas wish-list. In prayer, we pour out before God the deepest yearnings of our hearts (Ps. 62:8). Far from a mere religious habit or crass shopping list, prayer is a heartfelt response to God’s promise to hear our inmost desires.

Prayer Is Requesting “Things Agreeable to God’s Will”

John writes, “This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14). To pray rightly we have to know God and what he wants for us. My children know it is useless to ask for cotton candy at the fair—I’ll say no every time. They’ve learned it will be far more fruitful to ask me to read them a book. With God, things are not quite so simple. He operates on a different plane of wisdom than we do, but he has revealed his will to us. Prayers that are ignorant of God’s will (“Help me win the lottery;” “help me get revenge against my wife,” etc.) do not honor him and are a waste of energy.

Prayer Is Asking “In the Name of Christ”

At least five times in John 14–16, Jesus teaches his children to pray to the Father in his name. “If you ask anything in my name, I will do it” (John 14:14). This does not mean that every Christian prayer has to end the same way: “In Jesus’ name, Amen.” The names of God’s Son are not passwords that unlock heaven’s plunder. Jesus means that we must pray to the Father from a vital relationship with God’s Son. This is how “in my name” operates in Scripture. In the Old Testament, true prophets always spoke in his name, that is, in concert with him (e.g. Deut. 18:19). Prayer in Jesus’ name means coming before God in profound dependence on Christ’s finished work.

Prayer Includes “Confessing our Sins, and Thankfully Recognizing His Mercies”

Both penitence and thankfulness are necessary postures of prayer because they reflect the genuine experience of every believer. We ask for forgiveness because we know we are sinners and that only God can pardon. Penitence doesn’t put believers back into God’s favor; those who are his can’t diminish his love (John 17:23). We acknowledge our sins because a posture of humility is the only appropriate way to approach a holy God (cf. Ps. 32:5-6; Dan. 9:4-19; 1 John 1:9). Assured of his mercies, we thank him for accepting us and blessing us with his kindness (Ps. 103:1-5, 136:1-26; Phil. 4:6).

How Should We Pray? (Q/A 99)

“The Whole Word of God…Directs Our Prayers”

In the school of prayer, the Bible is our textbook. Our prayers often indicate how long and how deeply we have drunk from the Scriptures. This doesn’t mean that the best prayers are fancy; many of the prayers in the Bible are simple pleas for help (e.g. Neh. 13:22) or outbursts of praise (e.g. Ps. 117), but when we immerse ourselves in God’s word, our hearts begin to learn the Bible’s prayer language.

Many Christians have found it helpful to distill their daily Bible reading into prayer points. Sometimes we can pray the word of God directly. When read through the lens of fulfillment in Christ, the Psalms especially can serve as a beautiful prayer book.

“Especially the Lord’s Prayer…Directs Our Prayers”

Jesus spoke his famous prayer (Luke 11:2–4) in answer to his disciples’ request, “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). Ever since believers have used the Lord’s Prayer as a prayer. Some people feel uneasy using a form prayer, as if doing so is an example of “vain and heathenish repetition” (Matt. 6:7). It is possible to use even the Lord’s Prayer in vain, but surely there is a difference between empty repetition and good repetition (Phil. 3:1). In Psalm 136, for example, twenty-six times worshippers repeat the phrase “For His mercy endures forever!” The Westminster Larger Catechism helpfully suggests that the Lord’s Prayer is to be used not only as a template for making other prayers, “but [it] may also be used as a prayer” (Q/A 187).

In his prayer, Jesus models what godly prayer is like: prayer should be God-centered and kingdom-focused. It must include confession of sin and thanksgiving for his provision. Through prayer we must seek what we need for body and soul so that we can live as children of heaven in a fallen world. Jesus’ preface, six petitions, and conclusion provide us with a rich template for growing in prayer.

Prayer isn’t always easy (why should it be?). But as we grow in the discipline of prayer, it can be a rich experience of sharing our heart with God’s.