2月10日竭诚为主

210 你对神的想像力衰退了吗?

你们向上举目,看谁创造这万象。(赛四十26

以赛亚时代神的百姓,只看偶像的面孔,以致缺乏想像力。以赛亚吩咐他们举目望天,就是叫他们再用想像力。大自然对圣徒而言,是神圣的。我们若是神的儿女,在大自然中就必发掘无限的宝藏。一阵微风,一个昼夜,天空的变化,大地的兴衰,都实实在在是神向我们说话。只要我们运用那呆滞已久的想像力,便可以领略。

属灵上的专一是一个考验,要看我们能否利用想像力专一向神。你的“思想”是否向着偶像?这偶像是你自己?你的作爲?你事奉的观念?你得救与成圣的经历?那麽,你对神的想像力是呆滞了。当你面对困难,你就无能爲力,只好在黑暗中忍受吧。你的想像力若是贫乏,切勿回头看自己的经历,因你需要的是神。你要摆脱偶像的羁绊,离开任何阻拦你思想神的事物。醒来吧,接受以赛亚对百姓的吩咐,把“心思意念”转向神。

祷告含混模糊的原因之一是没有想像力,没有决志把自己摆在神面前。我们要先学习怎样做擘开的饼、倒出来的酒,做代祷的工夫,多于做与人接触的工作。想像力是神给圣徒的一种能力,叫他从“己”出来,进入从未经历过的关系里去。

祈祷◆噢,主啊,我完完全全地需要你!我来到你面前,求你借着你的生命,慈爱地使我更新,以致我的理解力、想像力和说话,完全属你。今天,我寻求你的感动和使人振兴的恩典。


February 10 Is Your Ability to See
God Blinded?

Lift up your eyes on high, and see
who has created these things . . . —Isaiah 40:26

The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to
see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the
heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to
visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure
in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching
out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in
the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only
begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and
thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the
idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or
maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability
to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and
will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded,
don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need.
Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from
everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the
ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts
and your eyes to God.

One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have
lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves
deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and
poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with
others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go
beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before
experienced.

Comments are closed.