1) Q. I know that there is a church prayer meeting every week. What is this meeting for?
A. The prayer meeting is a meeting of the church for all the saints to function in mutuality. The purpose of the prayer meeting is for us to come together to pray corporately for items that are too great to be borne by one person.
问:我知道每周都有召会的祷告聚会。那这个聚会是为着什么?
答:祷告聚会也是教会性的,是众圣徒彼此的。祷告聚会的目的就是大家要来在一起,共同祷告,因为事情太重大,一个人办不了。
2) Q. I never heard of the church coming together to pray corporately. Was this an early church practice?
A. Acts 4:24 to 31 and 12:5 and 12 are two portions in the Bible that speak of the church gathering and praying together corporately. When an important matter was encountered, they had prayer meetings.
问:我从未听说过召会来到一起团体的祷告。这是早期召会的一个实行吗?
答:使徒行传四章二十四到三十一节,十二章五节,十二节这两处圣经,都说到当初教会遇到重大事故的时候,怎样聚集在一起有聚会的祷告,也就是有祷告聚会。
3) Q. When I pray by myself, God will still hear me. Why is it important to pray with others?
A. Meeting together to pray always exceeds personal prayer in weight, value, authority, and power. There is a principle in the Bible that one chases a thousand, and two put ten thousand to flight.
问:当我自己祷告时,神也会垂听我。为什么与别人一起祷告很重要呢?
答:聚祷告,总是比个人祷告更有分量,更有价值,更有权柄,更有能力。在圣经里有一个原则,一个人赶一千,两个人赶一万。
4) Q. I feel that my individual prayers are quite sweet. Do I really need the corporate prayer meetings?
A. The strength in Christian meetings is increased by multiplication, not merely by addition. This also applies to prayer. Individual prayer is powerful, but corporate prayer is much more powerful.
问:我觉得我的个人祷告十分甜美。我真的需要团体的祷告聚会吗?
答:基督徒聚会起来,那个力量不仅是加添,并且是加了好几倍。祷告也是这样,个人祷告有能力,团体祷告更有能力。
5) Q. I would like to start praying with others. Is there any advice that you can give me?
A. The first point is to be in one accord. Regardless of how many of us pray together, we must be one person, not just like one person. When we pray together, we must pray as one person.
问:我想要开始和别人一起祷告。你可以给我一些建议吗?
答:第一点,是要和谐。无论有多少人在一起祷告,必须众人不光像一个人,并且就是一个人。大家在这里一起祷告,就是一个人祷告。
6) Q. It seems impossible for many people to pray as one. Was this done in the Bible?
A. In Acts there were about a hundred and twenty persons praying in one accord for a period of ten days. Even though one hundred and twenty were praying, in the eyes of God only one person was praying.
问:让许多人祷告如同一人似乎是不可能的。在圣经里有这样的事吗?
答:在使徒行传里有一百二十多个人,同心合意,和谐祷告共有十天之久。你我应该信,他们虽是一百二十多个人祷告,在神看就是一个人在那里祷告。
7) Q. In addition to praying as one person, what else should I remember while praying with others?
A. The second point is to be genuine. Although we should consider others when we pray, we should not pray for others to hear; rather, we pray for the Lord to hear.
问:除了如同一人的祷告以外,在与别人一起祷告时我还应该记住什么?
答:第二点,聚会的祷告是要真实。我们在祷告聚会里祷告,固然是要顾到别人,但不是重在祷告给人听,乃是重在祷告给主听。
8) Q. I pray long prayers by myself. Should I pray long or short prayers in a prayer meeting?
A. The third point is to be short. Long prayers kill the spirit of the meeting, causing the spirit of the meeting to sink. Therefore, prayers must be short in the prayer meeting.
问:我自己会有长的祷告。在祷告聚会中我该有长的祷告还是短的祷告?
答:第三点,聚会的祷告要短。长的祷告消杀聚会的灵,使聚会的灵下沉。所以在祷告聚会中,祷告要短。
9) Q. In a group prayer meeting, there are many items to pray for. Should we pray for every single item?
A. If there are too many items to pray for in every meeting, eventually everyone will be worn out, feeling as if every item is of equal importance and, consequently, does not have much meaning.
问:在一个排祷告聚会中,有很多事项要祷告。我们应该为每一个项目祷告吗?
答:若是每一次聚会祷告的事项太多了,就把大家多疲了,感觉反正都是这一套,没有什么意思。
10) Q. When two or three gather to pray, how is this important to the Lord?
A. The Lord Jesus said that if there were two or three gathered into His name, He would be in their midst, and what they ask for in harmony will be done for them. Two or three praying together is the principle of corporate prayer.
问:当两三个人聚在一起祷告时,这对主有多重要?
答:主耶稣说,无论在哪里,只要有两三个人奉祂的名同心合意的祷告,祂不仅在他们中间,并且凡他们所求的,都要给他们成全。两三个人祷告,就是聚会祷告的原则。