10月11日 神沉默之后－－怎样？

听见拉撒路病了，就在所居之地，仍住了两天。（约十一6）

神有没有因为信任你，对你默不作声－－一个满有意义的沉默？神的沉默就是他的回答。试想在伯大尼那几天的死寂！在你生命中，有类似的日子吗？神能否这样信任你？还是你仍不断求取眼见的答复？要是你得不着那祝福就不肯前行，神也会赐下；但他若沉默，是表示要使你对他有更深切的认识。你是否因为神未明明地回答你而忧愁？你会发现神最亲密待你，就是完全的沉默，不是绝望的死寂，而是愉快对你，因为他看到你可以承受一个更大的启示。如果神对你沉默，要赞美他，他正带你进入他伟大的计划中。神何时彰显他的答复，在乎他的主权。时间对神不是什么一回事。你曾说：“我求饼，他却给石头。”其实他没有这样作，今日你要发现神赐给你的是生命的饼。

神的沉默有一奇妙之处，就是把他的安静传给你，使你变得完全的坚信－－“我知道神听了我。”他的沉默表示他听见了。若你一意要神答允赐福你的祷告，他是会成就的；可是他不会赐你沉默的恩典。若耶稣基督引导你明白祷告是为荣耀父神，那么，他就会给你一个先兆，表示他与你的亲密关系－－沉默。

祈祷◆噢，主啊，愿这刻你以同在的光辉和你靠近的感觉来施福予我。虽然我惟独信靠你，但仍渴求自觉地以你的同在为乐，愿你将它赐给我。

October 11 After God's Silence – What?

“When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days in the same place where he was.” John 11:6

Has God trusted you with a silence – a silence that is big with meaning? God's silences are His answers. Think of those days of absolute silence in the home at Bethany! Is there anything analogous to those days in your life? Can God trust you like that, or are you still asking for a visible answer? God will give you the blessings you ask if you will not go any further without them; but His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into a marvellous understanding of Himself. Are you mourning before God because you have not had an audible response? You will find that God has trusted you in the most intimate way possible, with an absolute silence, not of despair, but of pleasure, because He saw that you could stand a bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, praise Him, He is bringing you into the great run of His purposes. The manifestation of the answer in time is a matter of God's sovereignty. Time is nothing to God. For a while you said – “I asked God to give me bread, and He gave me a stone.” He did not, and to-day you find He gave you the bread of life.

A wonderful thing about God's silence is that the contagion of His stillness gets into you and you become perfectly confident – “I know God has heard me.” His silence is the proof that He has. As long as you have the idea that God will bless you in answer to prayer, He will do it, but He will never give you the grace of silence. If Jesus Christ is bringing you into the understanding that prayer is for the glorifying of His Father, He will give you the first sign of His intimacy – silence.