Distractions don’t have to derail our prayers.

为那些使我们分心的事祷告吧！

Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

你们要将一切的忧虑卸给上帝，因为祂顾念你们。-彼得前书5章7节

I bow my head, close my eyes, lace my fingers together and begin to pray. “Dear Lord, I’m coming to you today as your child. I recognize your power and goodness. . .”Suddenly, my eyes snap open. I remember that my son hasn’t finished his history project, which is due the next day. I recall that he has an after-school basketball game, and I imagine him awake until midnight finishing his schoolwork. This leads me to worry that his fatigue will put him at risk for the flu!

我低下头、闭上双眼，双手交扣地开始祷告，说：“亲爱的主，孩子来到祢面前，赞美祢的大能与良善……”突然间，我的双眼不自主地张开了，猛然想起儿子还没写完他隔天就要交的历史报告，而且今天他放学后还有篮球比赛。我已经可以想像他彻夜未眠，努力完成报告的样子。这让我不禁开始担心他疲累过度，会增加感染流感的风险。

C. S. Lewis wrote about distractions during prayer in his book The Screwtape Letters. He noted that when our minds wander, we tend to use willpower to steer ourselves back to our original prayer. Lewis concluded, though, that it was better to accept “the distraction as [our] present problem and [lay] that before [God] and make it the main theme of [our] prayers.”

鲁益师在他的著作《地狱来鸿》（The Screwtape Letters）中提到，当人们在祷告中因其他事而分心时，许多人会用意志力强迫自己的心思回到原本的祷告上。但鲁益师却认为，更好的处理方式应该是将这些导致你我分心的事，视为我们当下的问题，并将这些问题向上帝坦诚，恳切地为这些事来祷告。

A persistent worry or even a sinful thought that disrupts a prayer may become the centerpiece of our discussion with God. God wants us to be real as we talk with Him and open up about our deepest concerns, fears, and struggles. He is not surprised by anything we mention. His interest in us is like the attention we would receive from a close friend. That’s why we’re encouraged to give all of our worries and cares to God—because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

那些打断我们祷告的担忧，甚至是有罪的念头，都可以成为我们祷告时的主要内容。上帝希望我们诚实无伪地来到祂面前，敞开心胸说出自己心底深处的烦恼、恐惧和痛苦。不论你我说了什么，祂都不会感到惊讶，祂会如挚友一般地关心我们。因此，圣经鼓励我们，将所有的忧愁挂虑交给上帝，因为祂顾念我们（彼得前书5章7节）。

Dear God, You know what’s on our mind today. Help us to experience the peace that comes from sharing our concerns with You.

亲爱的上帝，祢清楚知道我们的心思意念。求祢帮助我们，能将忧虑卸给祢，并经历从祢而来的平安。

1 Peter 5:6-10    NIV

5 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

彼得前书 5:6-10 

5 所以，你们要自卑，服在神大能的手下，到了时候他必叫你们升高。7 你们要将一切的忧虑卸给神，因为他顾念你们。 8 务要谨守、警醒，因为你们的仇敌魔鬼如同吼叫的狮子，遍地游行，寻找可吞吃的人。 9 你们要用坚固的信心抵挡它，因为知道你们在世上的众弟兄也是经历这样的苦难。 10 那赐诸般恩典的神，曾在基督里召你们得享他永远的荣耀，等你们暂受苦难之后，必要亲自成全你们，坚固你们，赐力量给你们。

INSIGHT

灵粮透视

Because God cares so deeply for us, we can pray about everything (Philippians 4:6–7). Nothing is too small to bring to Him. And nothing is too big for God either, for nothing is impossible with Him (Matthew 19:26). Prayer acknowledges that we are weak and totally dependent on God. We may not fully understand the circumstances of our life, but we can rest in the knowledge that God is in control. He gives us His peace: “[God] will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in [Him]” (Isaiah 26:3).

因为上帝深切关心我们，所以我们可以为所有的事情祷告（腓立比书4章6-7节）。对上帝来说，没有任何事情是小到不足以带到祂面前，也没有任何事情是大到祂无法完成，因为在祂没有难成的事（马太福音19章26节）。当我们祷告的时候，便表明自己是软弱的，并愿意完全倚靠上帝。我们或许无法完全了解为何会遭遇某些境况，但却可以放心，因深知上帝掌管一切，祂会将祂的平安赐给我们。如以赛亚书26章3节说：“坚心倚赖祢的，祢必保守他十分平安，因为他倚靠祢。”

整理：于姊妹