9Marks Journal: The Church Praying (46-47期：教会中的祷告)

Abraham prayed. Moses prayed. David prayed. The prophets prayed. The apostles prayed. Jesus himself prayed. But do our churches pray when they gather together? My own experience suggests, not much. There might be a few cursory upward glances through the course of a church service. But there are almost no studied, careful, extended times of prayer—little to no adoration, confession, thanksgiving, or supplication. And that lack of praying, when you think about it, is embarrassing. Do we actually think we can change the leopard spots, or bring the dead to life? Anything a church does that will be eternally worthwhile must be done by the Lord, which is to say, through prayer. Our primary hope for this Journal is that it would both encourage churches to pray more together and offer a few pointers on how.

亚伯拉罕祷告过。摩西祷告过。大卫祷告过。众先知祷告过。使徒也祷告过。甚至耶稣自己也祷告。

但是当今教会聚集时祷告了吗？

我自己的经历得出的结论是：不多。也许在教会崇拜环节中，祷告只是匆匆一环。但是却缺乏慎重的、仔细的、充分时间的祷告，也没有赞美、认罪、感恩和祈求。而这样祷告的缺乏是令人难堪的。我们真的认为我们可以改变种族隔离政策，或者让死人复生吗？教会所作的任何具有永恒价值的事，一定是由神亲自做工成就，同时也是透过祷告。

本期期刊最大的盼望是鼓励教会聚集时更多祷告，并且提供实践的指引。可以从Ryan Fullerton和Megan Hill的文章开始。他们的文章会激励你读本期其余的文章。