第一章

¹⁵因此，我聽到你們在主耶穌裡的信心，和對眾聖徒的愛心，¹⁶就不住地為你們獻上感謝。我禱告的時候，常常提到你們，¹⁷求我們主耶穌基督的神，榮耀的父，賜給你們智慧和啟示的靈，使你們充分地認識他，¹⁸並且使你們心靈的眼睛明亮，可以知道他的呼召有怎樣的盼望；他基業的榮耀，在聖徒中是多麼的豐盛；¹⁹神照著他強大的力量，向我們信他的人顯出的能力，是何等的浩大。²⁰這力量運行在基督身上，使他從死人中復活，並且在天上坐在自己的右邊，²¹遠超過一切執政的、掌權的、有能的、作主的，和今生來世所能舉出的一切名銜。²²神又使萬有都歸服在他的腳下，並且使他作教會至高的元首。²³教會是他的身體，是那充滿萬有者所完全充滿的。

 

默想：

1. 保羅在這段為信徒的禱告中提到，神已經賜給我們一切所需的，使我們可以過豐盛的基督徒生活，是充滿喜樂和信心的生活。
2. 安靜地讀這段經文（17節起），將保羅的禱告變成為自己的禱告，例：求我主耶穌基督的神，榮耀的父，賜給（我的名字）智慧和啟示的靈，使我充分地認識他。。。體會保羅在寫這段當時激動的情緒感受；嘗試用同樣的心情，向這樣榮耀、偉大、尊貴、全知、全能、全在的神，為自己作這樣的禱告。
3. 這樣的禱告，對神，和對自己有什麼新的體驗？

 

 

禱告與筆錄：

繼續安靜在神面前，與神對話，並聆聽祂對我說的話。將心中的思想（心得），或是與神的禱告，記錄在「靈程筆記簿」上面。

 

 

Chapter 1

¹⁵For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, ¹⁶I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. ¹⁷I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. ¹⁸I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, ¹⁹and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, ²⁰which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, ²¹far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. ²²And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, ²³which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

 

Meditation

1. Paul is saying that we already have everything we need for living the Christian life. We don’t have to wait for something additional to happen before we can live joyfully and confidently.
2. Read the passage silently.  Make Paul’s prayer in this passage my own.  For example, I ask you – the God of my Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory – to make me intelligent and discerning in knowing you personally.  And so on.  Try to imagine Paul’s emotion when he wrote this passage.  Then pray to the same awesome, glorious, mighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God according to this passage.
3. What new insight or awareness about God and myself do I get from such prayer?

 

Prayer & Journaling:

Stay with God for a little longer.  Continue to converse with God and listen to what he wants to tell me.  Then write down any thought and/or prayer in the 2012 “Spiritual Journal” book.