Why You Pray Is More Important Than What You Pray For

为什么你的祷告比你祷告的内容更重要

Nov 15, 2017

“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures”(James 4:3 NIV).

“你们求也得不着，是因为你们妄求，为了要浪费在你们的宴乐中。”（雅各书 4:3 和修）

If you expect God to bless your life, you must be willing to bless other people’s lives with the same benefits God has given to you. One of the conditions for answered prayer is a willingness to help those less fortunate with the blessings that we are given.

如果你希望上帝祝福你的生活，你一定也要期望祝福别人的生活如同上帝给你的一样。祷告蒙应许的条件之一就是愿意那些不幸的人得到我们所得到的祝福。

Proverbs 21:13 says,“Whoever shuts their ears to the cry of the poor will also cry out and not be answered”(NIV).God says if we ignore those who are in obvious difficulty around us, what right do we have to expect him to bail us out?

箴言21:13说：“塞耳不听贫寒人哀求的，他自己呼求，也不蒙应允。”（和修）。上帝说，如果我们忽视我们身边那些明显有困难的人，我们有什么权利期待他救我们呢？

God wants us to be like him, and God is love. One of the ways we prove we have love is that we’re willing to be generous toward other people. The principle of stewardship is repeated throughout Scripture: God blesses us so that we might be a blessing to other people.

上帝想要我们成为他的样式，神是爱。增加我们爱心的一个方法就是我们愿意对别人慷慨。经文中经常重复管理的原则：上帝祝福我们，所以我们应该祝福别人。

For instance, we might ask God for good health, but what are we going to do with that healthy body after we’ve got it? Are we praying just to help ourselves, or are we praying so we can help other people, too? When we ask God to bless our businesses or careers, are we willing to give back a portion of what God has blessed us with?

举个例子，我们也许会向上帝求健康，但是当我们有了健康的身躯之后我们要做什么呢？我们只是为自己祷告吗？或者我们祷告说我们也可以帮助别人吗？当我们求上帝祝福我们的事业或者工作时，你是否也愿意为上帝对我们的祝福做出一些回报呢？

The Bible says in James 4:3,“When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”Motive is important in prayer. Why you pray is more important than what you pray for.

圣经中，雅各书4:3，“你们求也得不着，是因为你们妄求，为了要浪费在你们的宴乐中。”（雅各书 4:3 和修）在祷告中，动机很重要。这就是为什么你的祷告比起你祷告事项更重要。

Is it possible to pray for the right thing with the wrong motive? Sure. I’m not saying you should never pray for your own personal needs. Jesus says to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”In Mark 11, he says you can even pray for your desires. But you have to check your motive. Are you willing to share your blessing with other people, or are you going to hoard it all to yourself?

我们有可能为了一件正确的事情祷告，但是却带有错误的动机吗？当然。我从来没有说过你永远不要为自己的个人需要祷告。耶稣这样祷告，“给我们日用的饮食。”在马可福音11章，他说你甚至可以为自己的需求祷告。但是你必须查验你的动机。你愿意与别人分享祝福吗？或者你只要自己一个人拥有这些？

God is not interested in simply satisfying our selfishness. The conditions of prayer are an honest relationship with God, a forgiving attitude toward other people, and a willingness to share God’s blessings with other people. God loves us and so he’s teaching how to prayer in an effective way.

上帝对我们简单自私的满足没有任何兴趣。祷告的前提条件是一个月上帝真诚的关系，对他人原谅的态度，和愿意与他人分享上帝祝福的意愿。上帝爱我们，所以他也教导我们怎样用一种有效的方式去祷告。

Talk It Over

讨论问题

How has God blessed you? How can you share those blessings with others?

上帝如何祝福你的？你可以与别人分享这些祝福吗？

During your next quiet time, think about your motive while you pray. Are you willing to share with others what you’re asking God for?

在你下一次安静的时间，思想你祷告时候的动机。你愿意与别人分享你想上帝所祈求的吗？