7月9日
标 题：有效且恳切的祈祷
经 节：义人祈祷所发的力量是大有功效的。（雅各书五章16节下）
神应许所有信徒若能过公义的生活，并且恳切地祈祷，我们的祷告是大有功效，且会有重大的结果。我们是如何看这条应许呢？我们可能会争论：“可是，我真的有祷告，只是什么事也没有发生！”我们的问题在于不相信神话语的可靠性。神的话告诉我们，祷告会成就许多事。倘若我们的祷告生活没有成就任何事，我们该怎么办？倘若我们祷告没有果效，是否代表这个应许不是真的？我们是否应该因而认定圣经不合实际？或者我们应检验自己是否合它的条件？
雅各说，恳切地祷告是大有功效的。我们是否祷告得不够恳切？恳切地祷告代表我们绝不轻易放弃。恳切地祷告表示我们愿意花足够的时间为人代祷。恳切地祷告是以心灵向天父呼求，有时甚至是带着眼泪的。恳切地祷告是圣灵以说不出的叹息为我们祷告（罗马书八：26）。
根据雅各书，我们的公义会保证有功效的祷告。神公义的标准与我们的标准不同。祂越过我们的行为，甚至我们的思想，直见我们的内心。倘若我们的祷告功效很小，怎能自以为已尽了责任？如果祷告没有效，问题不在神的身上，而在我们的身上，因为神的话是绝对可靠的。如果我们能坚守神的要求，祂会领我们照着祂的心意祷告，且以大能的方式回答我们的祷告。
Effective, Fervent Prayer
The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man
avails much. (James 5:16b)
God promises all believers that if we live
righteously and pray fervently, our prayers will be effective and produce
significant results. How do we treat a promise like this? We might argue, “But
I do pray, and nothing happens!” Our problem is that we do not hold ourselves
accountable to the Scripture. God’s Word says that prayer ought to accomplish
much. If our prayer life is not accomplishing much, what should we do? If we
are praying but seeing no results, should we conclude that this promise is
untrue? Should we excuse this Scripture as impractical and unrealistic? Or
should we examine ourselves to see if we meet its conditions?
James says that fervent prayer avails much. Could
it be that we are not as fervent in our praying as we should be? Fervent prayer
means we do not quit easily. Fervent prayer means we purposefully spend sufficient
time in intercession. Fervent prayer means we cry out to the Father, sometimes
in tears, with our heart and soul. Fervent prayer comes as the Holy Spirit
assists us in praying with groanings too deep for words (Rom. 8:26).
According to James, our righteousness will ensure
effective prayer. God’s standard of righteousness is different from ours, for
He looks beyond our actions, even beyond our thoughts, directly to our hearts.
How then should we hold ourselves accountable if our prayers are accomplishing
little? If nothing happens when we pray, the problem is not with God. The
problem is with us, for God’s word is absolutely reliable. If we adhere to what
God requires, He will lead us to pray for things that align with His purposes,
and God will answer our prayers in a mighty way.
