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二○二○年十月三日/四日                                                                                                        Click here for English version

忙碌與禱告

周曉暉牧師

忙碌驅使人尋求解決之道。有人就運用最新的科技產品,好去節省丁點兒的時間。要不,就減去一些活動,調動資源到手頭上的事情。可是,不論怎樣,人們依舊沒能從忙碌中脫身,反而忙上加忙。

主耶穌在地上三年傳道的日子,四處奔波,不停服事。有一次,祂到訪彼得的老家迦百農,引來全城的人找祂醫病和趕鬼。祂憐憫在困境中的人,當天就治好了許多患病的,又趕出了許多的鬼。緊接的第二天,祂計劃了去附近鄉鎮傳道,在這些地方依舊醫病和趕鬼,真的忙個不停。

主耶穌是怎樣面對如此繁忙的生活呢?祂是這樣安排日程的,以到訪迦百農為例,明明勞碌了一整天,第二天又有另一旅程,福音書卻記載兩天之間:「次日早晨,天未亮的時候,耶穌起來,到曠野地方去,在那裡禱告。」(可一 35)主耶穌每每在忙碌之中,仍刻意在寧靜的清晨,避開人群,去到不被打擾的地方禱告。

越是忙碌,越是禱告;縱然疲倦,仍常檮告。因為祂知道,祈禱是身為人所能作的一件大事。反觀我們自己,雖然知道主耶穌如此行,卻極不情願去照著作。當你在忙碌非常的日程裡,往往最先放下的,會否就是禱告?每當工作排山倒海而來,或是生活和照顧家人的責任重壓肩上,你是否就輕易地把禱告擠出當天的行事曆之外?若是如此,我們就無從經歷祈禱出來的能力。這樣,即使在事情稍緩之時,也不會自然而然地把禱告放回一天的計劃內。我們卻常在生活壓力的夾縫中自解:「要對自己好一點。」因而只顧以消閒娛樂當為回復力量的方式。

主耶穌平生的禱告,卻清晰展示出,越是忙碌,越是禱告。因為禱告是校正生命焦點、從父神那裡得力的要訣。這是最熟悉的主禱文、禱告的比喻、客西馬尼園的禱告等等一再教導的真理。福音書還有多處記載主耶穌的禱告或相關的講論,讓我們看見耶穌不但像當代的人早晚禱告,祂更常常都在禱告:祂以禱告來作為地上工作的開始和結束,祂以禱告來作出重要的選擇,祂以禱告來抵擋成功帶來的誘惑,也以禱告來迎戰人生的低谷與險阻。在忙碌中禱告的重要性,不言而喻。

在感恩禱告年的第四季中,我們將返回福音書,選讀主耶穌與禱告的經文,下定決心成為禱告的人,成為一間常常禱告的教會。






Pastor's Sharing
Busyness and Prayer
Rev Arnold Chow

Busyness drives people to find coping solutions. Some bring in the latest hi-tech devices to save a bit of time. Others cut down on activities in order to channel the resources for the work at hand. But however we manoeuver, we still cannot escape from busyness, and life just gets busier and busier.

During the Lord Jesus' three years of ministry on earth, He visited many places and served non-stop. One time, He visited Capernaum, Peter's hometown. The whole town was out to seek His help to heal the sick and cast out demons. Jesus had compassion on the afflicted. Right on that day, He healed many sick people and drove away a lot of demons. The following day, He was to preach in nearby towns and villages. And again, He would heal and exorcise. It was another busy day.

How did the Lord Jesus cope with His busy life? Here is how He arranged His itinerary. Taking Capernaum as an example, He had had a very busy day and another trip was planned for the next day. The gospels tell us: "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35). The Lord Jesus often deliberately avoided the crowds and went off in the morning to a solitary place where He could pray undisturbed.

The busier He was, the more He prayed. Tired He was, He still incessantly prayed. It was because He knows how important praying is for man. Now we know that that was what Jesus did. But when we reflect on ourselves, we are reluctant to follow suit. On a busy day, is prayer the first thing you would omit? When the amount of work is overwhelming or the burden of life and family obligations is heavy on the shoulders, do you readily write off prayer from your itinerary? If so, we will not be able to experience the power of prayer. We are also unlikely to put prayer back into our itinerary when the schedule begins to ease. In the crevice of life's pressures, we keep saying to ourselves, "I've got to be kind to myself" and we count on pastimes and entertainment to revitalize.

The prayers of Jesus clearly show that the busier one gets, the more one should pray. It is because prayer is how we can adjust our focus in life and the source of our strength from Father God. This is the truth taught time and again in the Lord's Prayer, the parables of prayer, the prayer in Gethsemane and the like that we are the most familiar with. There are many places in the gospels that recount the prayers of Jesus and related teachings. They tell us that Jesus did not pray twice a day like the people in His time. He always prayed: Jesus started His ministry on earth with prayer and concluded it with prayer; He made important decisions with prayer; He resisted the lure of success with prayer; and He fought the lows and risks and obstacles of life with prayer. The importance of prayer is apparent.

In the last quarter of the Thanksgiving and Prayer Year, we will revisit the gospels for selected passages on Jesus and prayer. Let us commit ourselves to becoming a people of prayer. Let us become a church that continually pray.