THE FIVE PILLARS OF GRACE (2)

The second pillar in the Tabernacle of Moses typifies "The Spirit of Prayer." When we pray in the Spirit, the gift of grace is released. There is an aspect of this gift of grace released through the Spirit of prayer, and it does not come in any other way. Paul said if it were not for the churches who prayed for him in united prayer, he would not have been delivered from the jaws of death.Kenneth E. Hagin said this,"Many of the bad things that happened to us - or the good things that should have happened but didn't - are a result of our failing in the past to pray out God's plan. You see, God has planned many things for us in the future that as we pray in the Spirit, we will be praying out ahead of time. (We can pray in the Spirit in tongues and our native language when we pray by the unction of the Holy Spirit.)In fact, what is happening in your life in the present, whether good or bad, is a result of what you have or have not prayed out in days gone by. And what will happen in your life in the future will be a result of your present prayer life."#2 Pillar: The Spirit of Prayer (Part 1)Paul's deliverance from perils came about through the prayer of the saints. They came together to pray in the churches. Hence, Paul was delivered from death more than once through their prayers.2 Corinthians 1:8–11 (NKJV)8 For we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.9 Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,10 who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.The word "gift" in verse 11 is translated from the Greek word "charisma," and it means the "gift of grace."God had delivered Paul and his companions in the past, so he believed God would deliver them as He would in the future. But Paul also recognised an important factor for their deliverance: the prayers of the Corinthian churches and the believers in all of Achaia (2 Corinthians 1:1). How did the churches help them? Through their prayers together in united prayer, Paul and his companions received the gift of grace for deliverance. As a result, many gave thanks for this gift of grace.There are three dynamics of prayer:1. Individual Prayer2. Small Group Prayer3. Church Corporate PrayerFor an apostle like Paul to be delivered from the peril of death, I believe what Paul meant when he said it was through their helping together in prayer was that the churches came together to pray in a corporate setting - Church Corporate Prayer. Paul needed the church to pray together for him. We observe here that many situations concerning a nation or a church can only be changed by the corporate prayer of believers coming together for this gift of grace to be released, to make the change.We see the gift of grace for deliverance from death came about through praying together in united prayer. Grace is unearned, unmerited, unlimited, and unconditionally given. The churches must have prayed completely by the grace of the Holy Spirit because they did not know the danger Paul was in when he was adrift at sea for 14 days without seeing any sunlight. Paul could not send them an SMS or a WhatsApp message to plead with them to pray regarding his peril. The churches must have prayed by the Spirit of grace and supplication (Zechariah 12:10) and prayed with unknown tongues because it was a mystery to them.Paul assured them the grace that delivered them in the past would be the same as that in the present and future. For instance, it is just like His grace that has unconditionally forgiven us of our past sin, continues to forgive us now in the present, and will forgive us of any sins in the future.Rev. Cheong Yew KwongFaith Church SingaporePlease visit our website at faithchurch.sg#goodtoread ... See MoreSee Less

恩典的五大支柱（二）

摩西会幕的第二根柱子预表了“祷告的灵”。我们在圣灵里祷告时，神的恩赐就会被释放出来。在有些情况下，恩典的赏赐只能藉着祷告的灵被释放出来，除此以外别无它途。保罗说，要不是教会同心合一地为他祷告，他就要被死亡吞灭了。甘坚信曾经说过：“很多坏事之所以发生在我们身上——或者说，本应该发生的好事之所以没有发生——都是我们过去未能把神的计划祷告出来的结果。你看，神已经为我们的未来规划了许多美事，我们可以通过在圣灵里祷告来把这些计划提前祷出来（我们可以在圣灵里用方言祷告，也可以用自己的母语祷告，只要口才来自圣灵就行）。实际上，现在发生在你生命中的事，无论好坏，都是你过去祷告或没有祷告出来的结果。而将来要发生在你生命中的事，则是你现在祷告的结果。”第二根支柱：祷告的灵（上）保罗之所以能屡次脱离患难，都是因为众教会的圣徒聚在一起为他祷告。藉着他们的祷告，保罗不止一次得以从死里逃生。哥林多后书1:8-11【新钦定本】8 弟兄们，我们不要你们不知道，我们从前在亚细亚遭遇苦难，因受到无法忍受的压力，甚至连活命的指望都没有了。9 自己心里也断定是必死的，叫我们不靠自己，只靠叫死人复活的神。10 他曾救我们脱离那极大的死亡，现在仍要救我们，并且我们指望他将来还要救我们。11你们也一起在祈祷中帮助我们，好叫许多人为我们谢恩，就是为我们因许多人所得的恩。11节的“恩”，是从希腊文单词“charisma”翻译过来的，意思就是“恩赐”，即恩典的赏赐。神在过去曾搭救过保罗和他的同伴，所以保罗深信神那时会搭救他们，将来还会继续搭救他们。但保罗也承认，他们得救的一个重要因素，是哥林多教会和亚该亚全地信徒的祷告（哥林多后书1:1）。教会是怎么帮助他们的？乃是藉着他们合一的祷告，保罗和他的同伴领受了拯救的恩赐。因此，许多人因他们得救而感谢神这份恩典的赏赐。祷告的形式有三种：1、个人祷告2、小组祷告3、教会集体祷告对于像保罗这样的使徒，要脱离极大的死亡，我相信保罗说“你们也一起在祈祷中帮助我们”的意思是，教会的信徒聚集起来，作为一个整体祷告，也就是教会的集体祷告。保罗需要教会同心聚集为他祷告。我们观察到，在很多情况下，在事关国家或教会前途命定的时刻，只有信徒聚集起来的合一祷告才能释放出神的恩赐，从而改变事态的发展。我们看到，拯救保罗脱离死亡的恩赐是通过合一的祷告才临到他的。恩典是白白得来的，虽然我们不配得，但神仍然无限量且无条件地赐给我们。教会肯定是完全靠着圣灵的恩典在祷告，因为他们并不知道保罗遭遇的危险，不知道他在海里漂流了14天，连太阳都看不见。保罗也不可能给他们发微信，请求他们为他的困境祷告。教会必须藉着施恩叫人恳求的圣灵来祷告（撒迦利亚书12:10），用方言为他祷告，因为保罗的处境对他们来说是一个奥秘。保罗安慰他们说，那过去曾经拯救他们的恩典，现在和将来仍要拯救他们。比如说，正如祂的恩典无条件地赦免了我们以往的过犯，现在祂仍然在赦免我们，并且也要赦免我们将来的一切过犯。张耀光牧师新加坡信心教会请访问我们的中文播客,faithchurch.sg/牧师手札/#牧师手札 ... See MoreSee Less