基督徒为什么要参加每周敬拜聚会(六)

worship06-150-x-112六。与别的基督徒一块祷告

因为祷告是基督徒的特权之一,难怪基督徒敬拜神的聚会,都会包括祷告。祷告是什么呢?最简单,可以形容祷告为我们与神说话。我们与创造天地、万物、人类的神说话。

基督徒以祷告来赞美和感谢神。圣经里的一卷书是诗篇。诗篇的作者时常用祷告词赞美神,荣耀宇宙中的大主宰。譬如,诗篇113篇写道:“你们要赞美耶和华。耶和华的仆人哪!你们要赞美,要赞美耶和华的名。耶和华的名是应当称颂的,从现在直到永远。从日出之地到日落之处,耶和华的名都该受赞美。耶和华高过万国,他的荣耀超越诸天。…你们要赞美耶和华”(诗篇113:1-4, 9c)。

基督徒聚会敬拜神时也藉着祷告诚心诚意地承认我们的罪孽,求神赦免我们的罪。大卫王写了祷告词,作为我们的榜样,如下:“神啊!求你按着你的慈爱恩待我,照着你丰盛的怜悯涂抹我的过犯。求你彻底洗净我的罪孽,洁除我的罪” (诗篇51:1-2)。

祷告的时候我们把内心及生命上的需要,都告诉神。耶稣训练他的门徒祷告说,“我们每天所需的食物,求你今天赐给我们;赦免我们的罪,好像我们饶恕了得罪我们的人” (马太福音6:11)。

我们也为别的人代求,请求神赐福、赐力量、赐智慧给他们。请神为他医病、解决问题、指示旨意等。保罗为在歌罗西城的基督徒求神说:“…我们…不停地为你们祷告祈求,愿你们借着一切属灵的智慧和悟性,可以充分明白 神的旨意,使你们行事为人对得起主,凡事蒙他喜悦;在一切善事上多结果子,更加认识 神;依照他荣耀的大能得着一切能力,带着喜乐的心,凡事忍耐宽容;并且感谢父… (歌罗西书1:9-12)。”

基督徒聚会的祈祷应该是热心、迫切、诚恳、积极的祷告词。如果基督徒不参加教会的敬拜聚会,他就失去了良好的机会与弟兄姐妹们一块祷告。他无法获得一群基督徒一块祷告所给予的属灵力量。如果参加聚会,他才会知道弟兄姐妹们的需要,才晓得弟兄姐妹的苦与乐。他才会知道谁生病,谁生孩子,谁过生日,谁生气,谁生财,谁的计划生效等。这样,才可以按照个人的需要而为别人祷告。众弟兄姐妹也会按照您的需要而为您祷告。我们不要忘记耶稣的弟弟雅各所说的,“义人祈祷所发出的力量,是大有功效的”(雅各书5:16b)。

基督徒参加每周日的敬拜聚会非常重要。虔诚的基督徒不要缺席任何主日聚会。除非生病等因素之外,他尽可能的参加,在神的面前,与众弟兄姐妹一起感谢、赞美、敬拜天上的天父,一块祷告。但愿您我都在其中!


Why Christians Attend Worship Every Sunday
06: To Pray with Other Christians
By Edward Short

Prayer is a privilege that Christians enjoy, so it’s no wonder that whenever Christians assemble to worship God on Sundays, prayer is included in the meeting. What is prayer? Simply stated, prayer is talking to God. Prayer is talking to the creator of the heavens and the earth, the creator of all things, the creator of mankind.

Christians utilize prayer to praise and thank God. The writers of the Biblical Psalms often composed prayers that praised God as the sovereign of the universe. For example, Psalms 113 states: “Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD; praise the name of the LORD. Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time on and for evermore. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is high above all nations, and his glory above the heavens… Praise the LORD!” (1-4, 9c).

Christians pray with sincerity and conviction during worship; we confess sins to God and ask him to forgive us. King David penned a prayer which serves as our example: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin” (Psalms 51:1-2).

In prayer, we tell God the innermost thoughts of our hearts and the most important needs of our lives. Jesus instructed his disciples to pray: “Give us this day out daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:11-12).

We also pray on behalf of others. We ask God to bless them, give them strength and give them wisdom. We petition God to heal their illnesses, solve other problems, and to make known his will for them. Paul prayed for the Christians in Colossae as follows: “…we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light” (1:9-12 NRSV).

The prayers during a Christian assembly should be fervent, urgent, sincere and positive. If a Christian doesn’t attend the corporate worship, he looses out on an opportunity to pray with other Christians. He misses the spiritual strength that is available when a group of Christians pray together. By attending the worship service, he can know the various needs his brothers and sisters have; he’ll know both their difficulties and their joys. He’ll know who’s sick, what family has a new baby, who’ll have a birthday, who has received a financial windfall or has succeeded in some other way, and even who is unhappy with the church. In this way then, he can pray for each person according to his or her needs. And his Christian brothers and sisters can also pray for him according to his needs. Let’s not forget what James said: “The prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective” (James 5:16b NRSV).

It’s very important for Christians to take part in the worship service each Sunday. Devout Christians don’t want to miss a single Lord’s day activity. Other than illness and other such situations, one does his best to assemble in God’s presence with other Christians where they unite their voices in thanksgiving, praise, worship and prayer. I hope that you are among their number!

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