我們昨天探討過關於「禱告的靈」是甚麼，今天我們會繼續這方面的討論。有些人可能認為，除非個人強烈感到受聖靈催促而祈求復興，否則便無須這麼做。不過今天的經文暗示我們，就好像在耶利米的日子那樣，每當我們看到有復興的需要時，我們是被指示要為復興禱告。我們必須小心，不要等待聖靈特別的「感動」，才實行神的聖言已清楚告訴我們所要負起的屬靈責任。

在我的年代，我看到很多基督徒認為除非個人「感到想要禱告」，不然的話禱告是沒有價值的。他們以為禱告的效力有賴個人禱告時感情的強烈程度。這簡直是一派胡言。慕迪（D.L. Moody）說：「最難禱告的時候，我們應該最努力禱告。」如果我們不想禱告但仍然堅持禱告，那麼我們交給神的,不單是我們的禱告，同時也是一個願意操練的靈。我們要敢於承認內心的感受，但不能倚賴它們。感受隨著我們的健康情況、天氣狀況或最新消息而起伏不定，而我們與上頭的溝通絕對不能倚賴「感受」這種不可靠的東西。

不過話雖如此，我必須指出，很多人起初在禱告中負起復興的需要時，往往會感到被他們以前從未有過的、深刻的熱誠和感受所環繞，而逐漸被帶進超自然的境界裡。無論如何，最重要的是：要有一個開始。

「神的聖言指出我們的屬靈責任」

進深研究
賽六十五17-25，五十八9；亞十三9

1. 以賽亞預言甚麼？
2. 我們求告神的名時，神給我們甚麼應許？

祈禱
天父，求您更清楚地指示我，不需要等待「禱告的靈」臨到，然後才可以祈求復興。如果禱告的靈在我祈禱時來到那是最好，但是如果它沒有來臨，我還是應該繼續禱告。求您幫助我，奉耶穌的名祈求，阿們。

Heaven-Sent Revival

Day 357

Don't wait for feelings - begin

"Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (v.3)

Bible reading:
Jeremiah 33:1-11

1 While Jeremiah was still confined in the courtyard of the guard, the word of the Lord came to him a second time:

2 "This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it—the Lord is his name:

3 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'

4 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the houses in this city and the royal palaces of Judah that have been torn down to be used against the siege ramps and the sword

5 in the fight with the Babylonians[a]: 'They will be filled with the dead bodies of the people I will slay in my anger and wrath. I will hide my face from this city because of all its wickedness.

6 "'Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.

7 I will bring Judah and Israel back from captivity[b] and will rebuild them as they were before.

8 I will cleanse them from all the sin they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins of rebellion against me.

9 Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.'

10 "This is what the Lord says: 'You say about this place, "It is a desolate waste, without people or animals." Yet in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem that are deserted, inhabited by neither people nor animals, there will be heard once more

11 the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, and the voices of those who bring thank offerings to the house of the Lord, saying, "Give thanks to the Lord Almighty, for the Lord is good; his love endures forever." For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were before,' says the Lord.

Message

Following what we said yesterday about the "spirit of prayer", it occurred to me that some might conclude that unless one feels strongly impelled by the Spirit to pray for revival there is no real need to do so. But as our text for today implies, whenever we see that there is a need for revival, as there was in Jeremiah's day, we are instructed to pray for it. We must be careful that we do not wait for any special "moving" of the Spirit to do what the Word of God plainly tells us is our spiritual duty.

I have come across many Christians in my time who believe that prayer is of no value unless one "feels like it". They seem to think that the efficacy of prayer depends on the emotional keenness one feels as one prays. This is nonsense. D.L. Moody said: "When it is hardest to pray, we ought to pray the hardest." When we pray and do not really feel like it we bring to God not only our prayers but a disciplined spirit as well. We must be willing to recognise feelings but not to depend on them. Feelings fluctuate with our health, the weather or the news, and our communication with heaven must not depend on something as flimsy as feelings.

Having said that, however I must make the point that many of those who in their prayer times begin to take up the need of revival often find themselves being gripped and seized by a depth of passion and feeling they have never known before. They begin in the natural and are caught up into the supernatural. The important thing, however, is to begin.

"The Word of God spells out our spiritual duty"

Prayer
Father, show me even more clearly that I do not need to experience a "spirit of prayer" in order to pray for revival. If the spirit of prayer comes as I pray, then so be it. If it does not, I will pray anyway. Help me - in Jesus' Name. Amen.

Further study
Isaiah 65:17-25; 58:9
Zechariah 13:9

1. What did Isaiah prophesy?
2. What has God promised when we call on His Name?

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