8月23日 祷告的选择与祷告的冲突
你祷告的时候，要进你的内屋，关上门，祷告你在暗中的父。（太六6）
耶稣不是说“梦想你在暗中的父”，而是“祷告你在暗中的父”。祷告是一项意志的行动。我们进到内室，关上门，这时最难的事就是祷告。我们无法控制心思，就是思想的浮游。私祷最大的争战，就是要胜过心不在焉。必须控制心思，集中心力去祷告。
我们必须选一个地方来祷告，可是我们一进去，那蝇灾就来了－－这个要做，那个也要做。“关上门。”在隐密处的安静，就是着意地把情感的门关上，只纪念神自己。神是在暗中的，他从暗中察看；他看我们，不同别人看我们，也不同我们看自己。活在内室之中，就根本没有可能怀疑神，我们对他比对一切更肯定。耶稣说是在暗中的，而不在别的地方。进入内室，你就会在一切日常事务当中，发现神时刻同在。要习惯每一件事与神来往。每天清早张开眼，就该把门向神大开，让神进来，否则你整天的工作就不对劲。向神大开心门，向暗中的父祷告，这样，你每一件生活中公开的事，都必打上神同在的印记。
祈祷◆噢，主啊，在清晨的时间与你相交是何等美好。愿你耐心地帮助我，将这宁静的高贵时刻，转化在这天的活动中。
August 23 Prayer Choice And Prayer Conflict
“When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and pray to thy Father which is in secret.” Matthew 6:6
Jesus did not say – Dream about thy Father in secret, but pray to thy Father in secret. Prayer is an effort of will. After we have entered our secret place and have shut the door, the most difficult thing to do is to pray; we cannot get our minds into working order, and the first thing that conflicts is wandering thoughts. The great battle in private prayer is the overcoming of mental wool-gathering. We have to discipline our minds and concentrate on wilful prayer.
We must have a selected place for prayer and when we get there the plague of flies begins – This must be done, and that. “Shut thy door.” A secret silence means to shut the door deliberately on emotions and remember God. God is in secret, and He sees us from the secret place; He does not see us as other people see us, or as we see ourselves. When we live in the secret place it becomes impossible for us to doubt God, we become more sure of Him than of anything else. Your Father, Jesus says, is in secret and nowhere else. Enter the secret place, and right in the centre of the common round you find God there all the time. Get into the habit of dealing with God about everything. Unless in the first waking moment of the day you learn to fling the door wide back and let God in, you will work on a wrong level all day; but swing the door wide open and pray to your Father in secret, and every public thing will be stamped with the presence of God.