9 Jan 2017, Psalm 44 诗篇 44, Prayer in Suffering 受苦中的祷告

Posted on Jan 3, 2017 in Devotions, Psalms |

Scripture Reading  : Psalm 44

Theme                      : Prayer in Suffering

 

  1. The Glorious Past (1–8). The psalmist recalls his faith in God’s past love and faithfulness to His people. He also reiterates in trust/worship of God to save him and the nation.
  1. The Disastrous Present (9–16). However, the present is very different than the past. They are experiencing defeat instead of victory. The psalmist does not know why this has happened. He is sure that the defeat is not the result of sin and idolatry.
  1. The Confident Future (17-26). Even though, he cannot understand the present suffering, his faith in God does not waver. Paul quotes v. 22 in Romans 8:36 to identify with the psalmist’s feeling. Faith holds on to what one knows to guide him through things he does not know. He knows God’s faithfulness in the past even though he cannot see it in the present, so that faith will guide him into the future.

 

Praying the Scripture

As a child of God, we will experience moments of joy in worshipping God and living in His world. But it is still a broken world; therefore we will suffer and experience moments of sorrow that is not the result of our sins. This is why Paul says in 2 Cor. 6:10, we are sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. This is the tension of believers in this broken world. But have faith in God’s restoration of the world. He will renew this broken world forever. Rejoice in hope (Rom. 15:13). Also, have faith and confidence in God because even your sufferings are not out of His control, but are designed to conform you to the image/character of Jesus (Rom. 8:28-29). Do not treat life and suffering with fatalistic attitude, but face life and suffering with hope, confidence and joy because God loves you, is in control and will restore this broken world.
 
 
 

经文：诗篇44

主题：受苦中的祷告

 

  1. 过去的荣耀（1-8）。诗人回想起他以前是如何相信神必对祂子民施与慈爱及信实。他也复述了神必搭救他与全国的信心和敬拜。
  1. 今日的灾难（9-16）。然而，今时不同往日。他们经历的是失败，不是胜利。诗人不晓得为何如此。他很肯定这不是因为他们犯了罪或拜了偶像。
  1. 未来的信心（17-26）。他虽然不明白现今的苦难，但对神的信心并不动摇。保罗在罗马书8:36中引用了第22节，表示他与诗人同感深受。信心乃是一人所抓住的信念，以指引他走过眼前的未知。虽然他现在看不到神的信实，但他晓得神过去的信实，因此信心将领他走向未来。

 

用经文祷告

身为神的儿女，我们敬拜神及活在天父世界中的时候必有喜悦的时刻。但是，这仍是个堕落的世界，所以我们必受苦，经历伤痛，却不因我们犯罪。这就是保罗为何在哥林多后书6:10说我们“似乎忧愁，却是常常快乐的”。信徒在这堕落世界中必有这矛盾。但我们要相信神要复兴这个世界；祂会使这堕落的世界永远复兴。我们要在盼望中喜乐（罗15:13）。再者，我们也要对神有信心，因为你的苦难也不在祂的掌控以外，但这苦难要使你更有耶稣的模样（罗8:28-29）。不要悲观地面对生命及苦楚，乃要以盼望、信心和喜乐面对，因为神爱你，正掌管一切，并要复兴这堕落的世界。