Ministry in Word

Divine Petition – Part 3

神的祈求 – 第三篇

(Partially based on Charles Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening” devotional)
(部份根据查理斯.司布真的「早晨与傍晚」灵修作品)

Continued from Part 2
上接第二篇

Jesus Prays for Us
耶稣为我们祈祷

In the Gospel of Luke chapter 22, when Jesus was having His last Passover supper with His twelve disciples, He told His disciple Simon Peter:

“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail.” (Lk 22:31-32)

在路加福音第22章，当耶稣正在与他十二个门徒吃最後的逾越节晚餐时，他告诉他的门徒西门彼得说，「西门！西门！撒但想要得着你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样；但我已经为你祈求，叫你不至於失了信心。」〔路22:31-32〕

Jesus told Peter that He had prayed for him, so that his faith might be preserved. It was Jesus’ prayer for Peter, so this prayer was powerful and effective. Although Peter subsequently denied our Lord three times, but he was eventually restored by Jesus. As Peter represented Jesus’ disciples in his days back then, today he represents all of Jesus’ disciples. So Jesus’ prayer for Peter may also be taken as His prayer for us.

耶稣告诉彼得他已经为他祈求，叫他得以保持信心。那是耶稣为彼得做的祈祷，所以这祷告是大有功效的。虽然结果彼得三次不认主，但是他最後还是被耶稣复兴。正如彼得在当日代表耶稣的门徒，今日他代表全部耶稣的门徒。所以耶稣为彼得祷告也可以算是他为我们的祷告。

Jesus Our Constant Advocate
耶稣是我们连续无间的律师

If so, how encouraging it is for us to know that our Redeemer Jesus Christ never ceases interceding for us. He intercedes for us when we pray and in between our prayers. He pleads our case and advocates our cause to God. As His supplications protected Peter from his danger of failing faith, they also shield us from the dangers oblivious to us. If we should know how often Satan wants to sift us, then we know how great Jesus’ intercession has been for us. It is God’s mercy to us that we do not know or see the great and small dangers of which we have been spared, otherwise we will be too fearful to live our life.

如果是这样的话，知道我们的救赎者耶稣基督从不停止为我们代求是多鼓舞我们的事。他在我们祈祷时和祈祷之间为我们代求。他为我们的事向神辩论和鼓吹我们的目标。就如他的祈求保护了彼得免了失去信心的危险，他的这些祈求也保护我们免了我们茫然不知的危险。如果我们晓得撒但多常想要筛我们，我们就知道耶稣为我们的代求是多重大。我们不知道或看不见我们避免了多少大大小小的危险，那是神赐我们的怜悯，否则我们会太害怕去过我们的生活。

Let’s look at how comforting His words to Peter were. He said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But. . .” But what? “But go and pray for yourself”? That would be good advice, because we need to pray in the face of trouble. But it is not what Jesus said. And He did not say, “But I will keep you watchful, so you will be preserved,” even though that would be a great blessing from God. Instead Jesus said, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail”. Lord Jesus has prayed for us in our daily challenges as He had prayed for Peter when Satan wanted to shake him up and put a snare on his path to stumble him. Jesus does not just leave us alone to fend for ourselves; He goes directly to the Father to plead our cases.

让我们看一看他对彼得的一番话是多带安慰的，他说，「西门！西门！撒但想要得着你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样；但. . .」但什麽？「但去为你自己祈祷」？这也会是一个好忠告，因为我们面临苦难时须要祈祷，但这并非耶稣说的。而他亦没有说，「但我会使你警醒，让你可以得以保全」，虽然那会是从神来的一大祝福。耶稣而是说，「但我已经为你祈求，叫你不至於失了信心。」主耶稣已经为我们在我们每日的难题上祈求，就如当撒但要摇动彼得和放绊脚石在他的路上要使他跌倒之时耶稣为他祈求一样。耶稣不会不顾我们让我们保护自己，而是他直接到天父那里为我们的事请求。

To be continued next week.
下周待续。

May we be thankful for Jesus’ continual prayer for us. May we be confident in our perseverance with our faith in Christ.

愿我们感谢耶稣为我们不断的祷告。愿我们确信在基督里信心上的坚定。

Tom and Tehwan Tso
仲谋与德菀

“The outcome of your faith is the salvation of your souls.” 1Peter 1:9
“信心的果效， 就是灵魂的救恩” 彼得前书1：9