God Hears Everything 上帝听祷告

[Dexu Xia]

God Hears Everything

Let it be known today that you are God.1 Kings 18:36

One of the longest-recorded postal delays in history lasted eighty-nine years. In 2008 a homeowner in the UK received an invitation to a party originally mailed in 1919 to a former resident of her address. The note was placed in her mailbox via the Royal Mail, but the reason behind its long delay remains a mystery.

Even the best human efforts at communication sometimes let us down, but Scripture makes clear that God never fails to hear His faithful people. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah demonstrated the striking contrast between the pagan god Baal and Jehovah God. In a showdown to demonstrate who the true God was, after Baal’s prophets had prayed for hours, Elijah taunted them: “Shout louder! . . . Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened” (v. 27). Then Elijah prayed for Jehovah to answer so that His people might return to faith, and God’s power was clearly displayed.

While our prayers may not always be answered as immediately as Elijah’s was, we can be assured that God hears them (Psalm 34:17). The Bible reminds us that He treasures our prayers so much that He keeps them before Him in “golden bowls,” like precious incense (Revelation 5:8). God will answer every prayer in His own perfect wisdom and way. There are no lost letters in heaven.

What does it mean to you that God cares enough to listen to your prayers? How will you thank Him for His faithfulness to hear you today?

Father, how amazing You are to always hear my prayers! I praise You because my prayers are precious to You.

上帝听祷告

求祢今日使人知道祢是⋯⋯上帝。—列王纪上18章36节

历史上其中一个邮政延误最长的纪录是89年。2008年，英国有位屋主收到一张寄给前屋主的请帖，是在1919年寄出的。英国皇家邮政终于送达这封邀请函，但延误这么久的原因依然成谜。

即使人类在沟通交流方面尽了最大的努力，但有时仍会有失误，但圣经清楚告诉我们，上帝永远都会聆听祂忠心的子民发出的呼求。在列王纪上18章，以利亚展示出异教之神巴力和耶和华上帝之间的鲜明对比。在以利亚与巴力的先知证明真神的对决上，巴力的先知向巴力祈求了几个小时之后，以利亚讥讽道：“大声求告吧！因为他是神，他或默想，或走到一边，或行路，或睡觉，你们当叫醒他”（27节）。接下来，以利亚向耶和华祷告，求祂回应，好让祂的百姓可以回转信靠祂，而上帝的能力就清楚地彰显出来！

纵然我们的祷告未必像以利亚那样能马上得到回应，但我们可以确信，上帝已经听见我们的祈求（诗篇34篇17节）。圣经提醒我们，祂何等看重我们的祷告，以至于祂将众圣徒的祈祷看作是宝贵的香，放在祂面前的“金炉”中（启示录5章8节）。上帝必定以祂完美的智慧和方式回应每个人的祷告，在天堂绝不会有丢失的信件。

知道上帝在乎并倾听你的祷告，对你有何意义？
你今天要如何感谢上帝信实地聆听你的恳求呢？

天父，祢总是倾听我的呼求，这真是太奇妙了！
我要赞美祢，因为祢将我的祷告看为宝贵。