Prayer is Like Paying With a Real Banknote 禱告好比兌換鈔票
Prayer: To See and Be Seen 禱告是看見與被看見
Pray to Unfold Our Lives 以禱告掀開生命之約
The Chinese version is after the English one.
中文版本在英文版本下。
Prayer is the way to unfold the Covenant between God and us. In the Bible, “covenant” holds a special meaning. You may have heard of the “New Testament” and the “Old Testament,” which refers to the covenants God established with His people. A covenant is two-way; if we do A, God does B. In the Bible, God has given us many precious promises, and as long as we believe and seek correctly, God is faithful, and His promises will be fulfilled. In this website, we will pay attention to two specific promises:
- 1. Jesus said, “For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened.” (Luke 11:10) This is a prayer website, but prayer is not just asking the air. During the process, we continually seek, looking within ourselves and seeking the truth of God. During prayer, we are also knocking on the door of life, exploring new ways in a seemingly closed room. God promises that as long as we seek, we will find, and as long as we knock, the door will be opened. This is what prayer is about.
- Prayer is different from divination. Divination seeks an immediate answer for a specific event, and once that answer is received, there is no room for choice, only acceptance. Prayer, on the other hand, is a process of seeking and knocking, and while we wait for God, He is actually waiting for us to explore, listen, and call out. He will respond to us, guide us, and bestow grace upon us in His unique way.
- 2. Also from Jesus, He said, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10) Prayer is different from seeking blessings. Seeking blessings is seeking better circumstances to obtain wealth, popularity, love, and so on. It is about specific “events.” We might think that if our fortune in a certain aspect changes, our life will change, and we will be satisfied. But when severe tests come to our life, we often find that reality does not align with our wishes. However, prayer is the breath of life, it’s about our “life”, both inner life and the way we live to be seen. What is the breath of life? It’s like when we inhale oxygen, we have breath, energy, and hope for transformation. When we exhale waste air, we exchange toxic elements with a fresh breath. Every day, we take in how much “waste air” (oppression of life, harsh words, broken relationships, anxiety about the unknown, etc.) in our souls, causing us to suffocate or choke. In our hearts, we accumulate many residues that harm us, which continue to affect our values, ways of handling things, relationships with others, and even the overall tone of our lives. God promises that by seeking Jesus, you can obtain life, and not just mere “survival” but true, heartfelt, abundant “life.” Every person is created with a unique design by God, which means your existence has a purpose, and your life is blessed, but it depends on whether you start “breathing” or not. Here, through prayer, we breathe life. We access God’s power to allow life to transform and return to its original goodness.
This website is called “Unfold in Prayers,” which means that through prayer, our lives unfold like a scroll, revealing the gifts of grace, and letting the truth and glory of God manifest in us. Prayer is not just remedial “medicine” but a path toward abundance. In prayers, we are seen by God and we are inspired by the Holy Spirit, so that the purpose, the truth and the way of life are revealed.
As mentioned earlier, the “Covenant of Life” is two-way. God has given people free will, and we must be willing to enter it to obtain His life. If we don’t open our hearts and humbly seek, we will forever stand outside the door. As for how to correctly believe and seek, we will discuss this in detail in the future. God longs to hear your footsteps on your journey. When you reach out your hand, your knuckles tapping on the door, believe that the “clack” will be sufficient to reach the heavens, ascending to the Father of eternity.
以禱告掀開生命之約
禱告是一個「生命之約」。「約」，可以是約會，現在我們在這時空相會，談談關於生命的話題，就是一場關於生命的約會。如果你有幸在此遇見上帝，那就是跟上帝的約會了。「約」，在《聖經》裡更有特別的意義，大家可能聽過《新約》和《舊約》，說的就是上帝與祂子民所立的約。「約」是雙向的，即是若然我們A，上帝就B。在《聖經》裡，上帝賜給我們很多寶貴的應許，只要我們正確地相信和仰望，上帝是信實的，祂的應許必然實現。在這「生命之約」裡，我們特別要抓著的應許有兩個，分別是：
一、主耶穌曾說：「凡祈求的就得著，尋找的就尋見，叩門的就給他開門。」（路加福音11章10節）這是個祈禱的網站，但祈禱不是對著空氣祈求，在過程中，我們要不斷尋找，既往內尋找自己，也向上尋求上帝的真理。在禱告時，我們也是在叩響生命的門，要在看似密閉的房間裡，敲探新的出口。而上帝應許，只要尋找，就必尋見；只要叩門，就必開門。禱告就是這樣。禱告有別於求籤，求籤是求一個即時的答案，而對於那個答案，我們無從置啄，只能順命；禱告則是一個尋找和敲門的過程，我們在等候上帝的同時，上帝其實早在等待我們前來探尋、聆聽、呼求，然後，祂會以祂獨特的方式回應我們、引導我們、施恩予我們。
二、也是主耶穌所說的：「我來了，是要叫人得生命，並且得的更豐盛。」（約翰福音10章10節）。禱告有別於祈福，祈福是祈求更好的運程，以獲得財富、人緣、桃花等等的運勢，是關於一個個的「事件」。你以為某個範疇的運勢改變了，你的人生就會改變，就會滿足，可是當人生的考驗來到，你往往發現事與願違。但禱告是生命的呼吸，是關乎你的「生命」。什麼是生命的呼吸？就是你吸了氧氣，生命就有氣息，就有能量，就有轉化的希望；你呼出了廢氣，生命的氣息就可繼續循環流通了。我們在每一天，到底吸入多少「廢氣」（生活的壓迫、無情的言語、破碎的關係、對未知的焦慮……），在心靈裡悶著，令人窒息欲敝？在心裡，又屯積了幾多傷害自己的殘餘粒子、累積了幾多毒素，久久不能清理，至今仍影響著我們的價值觀、處事方式和人際關係，甚至整個人生的調子都失去光彩？上帝應許，尋找主耶穌，就能得著生命，而且不是苟活的「生存」，而是真正的、由心的、豐盛的「活」著。每個人被造，都有上帝獨特的設計在其中，即是說，你的出現是有意義的，你的生命是蒙祝福的，只差你開始「呼吸」了沒有。在這裡，我們透過禱告，為生命「呼吸」，讓我們進入神的大能，讓生命得以轉化，回歸原有的美善。
「生命之約」，也可看作生命之「鑰」，是通往生命之門的鑰匙。看成是「藥」也無不可，但當然，禱告不僅是補救性的「藥」，而是走向豐盛的道路。英文名則是 Unfold in Prayers，即是在禱告中，我們的生命如卷軸般舒展開來，開啟恩典的禮物，讓上帝的真理和榮光在我們的身上展現出來。
如上所說，「生命之約」是雙向的。上帝給人自由意志，我們要願意進入，才能得著祂的生命。若不敞開己心，謙卑尋求，我們將永遠站在門外。至於怎樣才是正確地相信和仰望，我們在往後的內容中會詳細再談。願在路上能聽見你的足音。當你伸出你手，指骨叩在門上，要相信「咯」的一聲，便足已響至天際，上達永生之父。