從迷惘到信靠
禱告蒙應允的痛苦
經文
哈巴谷書一6-11
6我必興起迦勒底人，就是那殘忍暴躁之民，通行遍地，佔據那不屬自己的住處。
7他威武可畏，判斷和勢力都任意發出。
8他的馬比豹更快，比晚上的豺狼更猛。馬兵踴躍爭先，都從遠方而來；他們飛跑如鷹抓食，
9都為行強暴而來，定住臉面向前，將擄掠的人聚集，多如塵沙。
10他們譏誚君王，笑話首領，嗤笑一切保障，築壘攻取。
11他以自己的勢力為神，像風猛然掃過，顯為有罪。
信息分享
當耶和華神宣告祂準備使用邪惡和殘暴的迦勒底人修剪祂的百姓，令他們謙卑下來時，哈巴谷感到無比的震驚。迦勒底人是來自南方巴比倫的部落，他們是恐怖分子，喜歡劫掠和折磨敵人。請聽聽神在今天的經文怎樣描述迦勒底的軍隊：「……他威武可畏，判斷和勢力都任意發出。他的馬比豹更快，比晚上的豺狼更猛……他們飛跑如鷹抓食」（7-8節）。
哈巴谷的禱告得到神的回應了，但卻不是他所期望的，導致先知比以前更加迷惘。首先，神是隔了很長時間才回應他，而當神回應他的時候，答案卻比沉默更難以接受。常常有人對我說：「有甚麼比得不到回應的禱告更痛苦？」我經常會回答說：「得到回應的禱告也會帶來痛苦。」
哈巴谷心裡清楚知道自己期盼神做些甚麼，那就是潔淨以色列國，帶來復興。但當神回答說祂準備使用邪惡殘暴的迦勒底人來懲罰他們時，先知感到困惑了。這在基督徒生命中不是不常有的經驗──得到我們不期望得到的回答。奧古斯丁（Augustine）向神祈求光明克服他面對的黑暗時，神給了他亮光──但是那光首先揭示的是奧古斯丁的不潔和肉慾。我們禱告的時候是有點冒險，因為神往往會告訴我們一些我們可能不想知道的事情。
「得到不是我們想要的答案並不足為奇」
進深研究
拿一1-四11
1. 為甚麼約拿不滿？
2. 他期望甚麼？
祈禱
我的父、我的神啊，求您幫助我明白，若您以我不期望的方式回應我的禱告，是因為您希望將最好的賜給我。求您幫助我不單明白，也能接受。奉耶穌的名求。阿們。
From Confusion to Confidence
The pain of answered prayer
Bible reading:
Habakkuk 1:6-11
6 I am raising up the Babylonians,[a] that ruthless and impetuous people, who sweep across the whole earth to seize dwellings not their own.
7 They are a feared and dreaded people; they are a law to themselves and promote their own honor.
8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves at dusk. Their cavalry gallops headlong; their horsemen come from afar. They fly like an eagle swooping to devour;
9 they all come intent on violence. Their hordes[b] advance like a desert wind and gather prisoners like sand.
10 They mock kings and scoff at rulers. They laugh at all fortified cities; by building earthen ramps they capture them.
11 Then they sweep past like the wind and go on—guilty people, whose own strength is their god."
Message
Then the Lord announced that He was about to use the evil and cruel Chaldeans to prune His people and to bring them to heel, Habakkuk was astounded. The Chaldeans, a tribe from southern Babylonia, were terrorists who loved to plunder and torture their enemies. Listen to God's description of the Chaldean armies in the passage we are looking at today: "...they are a law to themselves and promote their own honour. Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves...They fly like a vulture swooping to devour..." (vv.7-8).
Habakkuk had his prayer answered, but not in the way he expected. The prophet is now more confused than ever. First, God took an exceptionally long time to answer him, and when He did, the answer He gave was more difficult to receive than the silence. People have often said to me: "What can be greater than the pain of unanswered prayer?" I usually respond: "the pain of answered prayer."
Habakkuk was quite clear in his mind what he wanted God to do - chastise the nation of Israel and send revival. But when God replied that He was going to use the evil and cruel Chaldean army to punish them, the prophet was nonplussed. This is not an uncommon experience in the Christian life - getting an answer we do not expect. When Augustine pleaded with God for light to overcome the dark problems he faced, God gave him light - but the first thing it revealed was Augustine's unchastity and sensuality. We take certain risks when we pray, for God sometimes tells us things we might not want to know.
"It is not uncommon to get an answer we do not expect"
Prayer
My Father and my God, help me to understand that when my prayers are answered in ways that I do not expect, it is because You desire my highest good. And help me not simply to understand it - but accept it. In Jesus' Name. Amen
Further study
Jonah 1:1-4:11
1. Why was Jonah disgruntled?
2. What was he expecting?
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