第一週 • 週四
晨興餧養
可十一23~24 我實在告訴你們，無論誰對這座山說，你得挪開，投在海裏，他若心裏不疑惑，只信他所說的成了，就必給他成了。所以我告訴你們，凡你們禱告祈求的，無論是甚麼，只要信已經得着了，就必得着。
開頭是神來發起，在過程中你不過是一個與神合作的人，而末了還是為着神的榮耀。這就是真實的禱告。真實的禱告乃是人在地上與神聯結並合作，讓神發表祂自己，通過人而成就祂的旨意。
一個人如果只懂得要自己和自己的心意，這個人雖然也可以禱告，卻不是一個禱告的人。一個禱告的人必須達到一種境地，在宇宙中只要神和神的旨意，除此以外別無貪求。
這一點我們在主耶穌身上可以看得非常清楚。祂在地上作人的時候，祂到父面前去禱告，就是這樣的光景。當祂在客西馬尼園禱告的時候，雖然祂也在那裏和神商量，甚至說，『若是可能，就叫這杯離開我。』但是祂又說，『不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。』（太二六39）祂一連三次這樣對神說，『我要你的意思，不要我的意思。』我們平常以為說，一個人禱告，乃是求神替他成全甚麼。比方，他在神面前有一個心願，他就照着這個心願向神呼求，要神替他成全。但是在客西馬尼園裏，你看見有一個人曾這樣禱告說，『不要照我的意思，只要照你的意思。』主耶穌的意思似乎是說，『我雖然在這裏禱告，卻不是求你為我成全甚麼，乃是求你成全你的心意。我在宇宙中為我自己並無所求，我所求的乃是要你能彀亨通，要你的旨意能彀通行。我就是這樣一個只要你和你旨意的人。』（李常受文集一九五九年第四冊，四六、四八頁）
信息選讀
主耶穌〔教導門徒〕的禱告，…一開頭就說，『願你的名被尊為聖，願你的國來臨，願你的旨意行在地上，如同行在天上。』（太六9~10）這些禱告的話語很清楚的說出，祂裏面所願的和所要的是甚麼。如果我們光知道為着自己個人的生活、事業、家庭有禱告，那我們的禱告就相當有問題。這些證明我們在神面前還不夠單純、純潔，我們的裏面還是複雜的、攙雜的，我們要神也要別的東西。…一個禱告的人…所要的就是神和神的旨意，只要神能行得通，神的旨意能成全，他就心滿意足了。
有的人也許告訴你說，禱告要有信心。但是並非你要有信心就能有信心，認真說，信心乃是神在你裏頭發出來的一個功用。你是住在神裏面，活在神裏面，讓神在你裏面有地位的一個人，神在你裏頭發出一個功用來，那個纔是信心。信心不是從你來的。幾乎可以說，信心就是神自己。…只有充滿神的人，纔充滿信心。所以光是勸人要有信心沒有用。…你要真有信心，就需要你是一個禱告的人，活在神裏面，在神裏面有對付，祂的要求肯答應，祂的剝奪你肯讓，祂在你裏面有地位的時候，祂在你裏面就是你的信心。當祂充滿你的時候，你裏面就充滿信心。你不必用力去信，也不必勉強去信，你定規能信。因為在你裏頭有一位是你所禱告的神，也是充滿着你來禱告的神，祂作了你的信心。請記得，到了這個時候，你就能有把握，知道你的禱告是蒙祂悅納的，是出乎祂的，是摸着祂的，也是祂沒有辦法不聽的，這個就是信心。信心不是你要有就能有的，乃是神在你裏面充滿你到一個地步，你沒有辦法不有的（李常受文集一九五九年第四冊，四九、六五至六六頁）。
參讀：禱告，第四章。
WEEK 1 — DAY 4
Morning Nourishment
Mark 11:23-24 Truly I say to you that whoever says to this mountain, Be taken up and cast into the sea, and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says happens, he will have it. For this reason I say to you, All things that you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and you will have them.
In the beginning it is God who initiates, in the process you are but one who cooperates with God, and ultimately it is for the glory of God. This is real prayer—man being united with God and cooperating with Him on earth, allowing Him to express Himself and accomplish His purpose through man.
If a person only knows how to seek after himself and his own desire, he may pray, but he is not a man of prayer. A man of prayer must become such that in all the universe he cares only for God and His will, having no other desire besides this.
We can see this characteristic very clearly in our Lord Jesus when He lived as a man on this earth. When He was praying in Gethsemane, He fellowshipped with God the matter of His death, saying, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.” But then He also said, “Yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39). Three times He told God, “I want Your will, not Mine.” Ordinarily, we think that when a person prays, he asks God to do something for him. For example, he has a desire, so he prays according to his desire and asks God to fulfill it for him. But in Gethsemane we see One who prayed thus: “Not as I will, but as You will.” In effect, the Lord Jesus was saying, “Although I am praying here, I am not asking You to accomplish something for Me; rather, I am asking that Your will be done. I seek nothing for Myself in this universe. My only desire is that You may prosper and that Your will may be carried out. I am such a One who wants only You and Your will.” (CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” pp. 34-36)
Todays Reading
Let us look at the model prayer with which the Lord Jesus taught His disciples how to pray…At the very outset He said, “Your name be sanctified; Your kingdom come; Your will be done, as in heaven, so also on earth” (Matt. 6:9-10). These words of prayer tell us clearly what His inner desire was. If we know only how to pray for our own living, business, and family, then our prayers really fall short. This proves that we are not single and pure before God but that we are still rather complicated and mixed within— we desire other things besides God. All [a man of prayer] wants is God and
God’s will; he is satisfied as long as God has a way to go on and accomplish His will.
Some may tell you that prayer needs faith. But faith is not something you can have just because you want it. Actually, faith is a function that emanates from God within us. If you are one who abides in God, lives in Him, and allows Him to have standing in you, then God in you issues forth a function, which is faith. Faith does not come from you. We can almost say that faith is God Himself…Only a person who is filled with God is full of faith. It is useless, therefore, to merely exhort people to have faith…If you really want to have faith, you need to be a man of prayer who lives in God, is being dealt with by Him, is willing to yield to His demands, and who gives
permission to His strippings. When He thus has place in you, then He is the faith in you. When He fills you with Himself, you are full of faith. You do not need to strive to believe or compel yourself to believe, but you surely can believe, for within you there is a God to whom you pray, and He is the very God who fills you and moves you to pray—He has become your faith. Please remember, at this time you know with assurance that your prayer is acceptable to Him, is of Him, and is touching Him, and therefore, He cannot help but answer your prayer. This is faith. Faith does not come according to your wish. Rather, it is God in you filling you to such an extent that you
cannot help but have faith. (CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” pp. 36, 47-48)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1959, vol. 4, “Lessons on Prayer,” ch. 4
