圣诞节前第七主日

进你的内屋

——马太福音六章六节

神儿女的祷告，要有一个“进入内屋”的经验，要有一个“关上门”、心扉单独向主敞开的经验。主悦纳我们在公共崇拜时献上的祷告，主更愿意我们“进入内屋”，单独与他亲近。

主厌恶法利赛人站在十字路口假意做很长的祷告，故意叫人看见。他要的是，我们心灵深处单独向他敞开，让他鉴察。主厌恶法利赛人自以为义、藐视别人的自言自语，他要的是我们俯伏在他面前的谦卑仰望之心。

主不需要外邦人祷告时所用的许多重复话语，也不需要巴力先知那种狂呼乱叫。当我们安静等候在他面前时，圣灵要用说不出的叹息替我们祈求。

在暗中察看人心的主啊，求你吸引我们，操练我们，让我们学会在“内屋”与你单独亲近。

7th before Christmas

Matthew 6:6

Go into your room

  In their spiritual lives, God’s children must have the experience of going into their room, of shutting the door and opening their hearts solely to God. Prayers offered in public are acceptable to God, but even more, God asks us to “go into our rooms” and approach him in private.

  God despised the Pharisees who stood like hypocrites at the street corners saying long prayers for others to see. We are called to open the depths of our hearts to God so that we may let him look upon us. God despised the Pharisees’ self-righteousness and their rejection of others. Their prayers were only for their own ears. We are called to kneel before God , with our hearts raised in humble entreaty.

  God requires neither the empty phrases the gentiles used in praying nor the wild clamor of the prophets of Baal. When we wait quietly upon our God, the Spirit will help us to pray with sighs too deep for words.

  O God, you alone see into the recesses of our hearts. We ask you to draw us near, to temper us, to allow us to learn to approach you in our private moments when we are alone.