腓立比书4章6节Philippians
4:6
「应当一无挂虑。」 ”Be anxious for nothing.”
读经: 腓立比书4章1-9节 Scripture Reading: Philippians 4：1-9
几年前，查经小组长向我们提出挑战，要求大家记住圣经的某一章，并要在小组中背诵。一开始，我对这个建议很抗拒。一整章！ 还要在大家面前背出来！ 背诵从来就不是我的专长，一想到大家会盯着我看，在长长沉寂中等着我背出下一个字，我就感到害怕。
几天之后，我不情愿地翻着圣经，想看看有哪些经文可以背，翻了许久都感觉不对，直到我翻到腓立比书第4章。
我默默地读了这节经文：「应当一无挂虑，只要凡事借着祷告、祈求和感谢，将你们所要的告诉上帝」（6节）。突然间我知道自己该背诵哪一章了，也知道该怎么免除对这份作业的焦虑。
上帝不想要我们为未来的事情烦恼，因为忧虑会使我们无法祷告。使徒保罗提醒我们不要焦躁不安，而应该向上帝求助。当我们持续以祷告替代焦虑，上帝的平安将会保守我们的心怀意念（7节）。
一度有人半开玩笑地说：「如果你能够忧虑，何必还要祷告？ 」 这里很清楚地指出：忧虑对我们没有帮助，但祷告会让我们和上帝亲近，祂是能担当我们所有忧虑的那一位。
若经一日忙碌，
你感压力累积；
乌云密布焦虑，
便是祷告之际。 (无名人士)
合手向上帝祷告，就不会因焦虑而扭绞双手。
A few years ago, our Bible-study
leader challenged us to memorize a chapter of the Bible and recite it to the
group. Internally, I began to protest and groan. An entire chapter, in front of
everyone? Memorization had never been my thing; I cringed as I imagined long
silences while everyone watched me, waiting for the next words.
A few days later, I reluctantly
leafed through my Bible, looking for a set of verses to learn by heart. Nothing
seemed right until I landed in Philippians 4.
I read this verse in silence, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (v.6). That’s when I knew which chapter to memorize, and how to walk
away from my anxiety about the assignment.
God does not want us to agonize
over future events, because worry paralyzes our prayer life. The apostle Paul
reminds us that instead of fretting, we should ask God for help. When we
continually take this approach to anxiety, God’s peace will guard our hearts
and minds (v.7).
Someone once said tongue-in-cheek,
“Why pray when you can worry?” The point is clear: Worry gets us nowhere, but
prayer gets us in touch with the One who can handle all of our concerns.
When you feel
the tension mounting,
And across the
busy day,
Only gloomy
clouds are drifting
As you start to
worry-pray! (Anon.)
It’s impossible to wring our hands when they are folded before
God in prayer.
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