Is Your Ability to See God Blinded?

Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things . . . —Isaiah 40:26

The people of God in Isaiah’s time had blinded their minds’ ability to see God by looking on the face of idols. But Isaiah made them look up at the heavens; that is, he made them begin to use their power to think and to visualize correctly. If we are children of God, we have a tremendous treasure in nature and will realize that it is holy and sacred. We will see God reaching out to us in every wind that blows, every sunrise and sunset, every cloud in the sky, every flower that blooms, and every leaf that fades, if we will only begin to use our blinded thinking to visualize it.

The real test of spiritual focus is being able to bring your mind and thoughts under control. Is your mind focused on the face of an idol? Is the idol yourself? Is it your work? Is it your idea of what a servant should be, or maybe your experience of salvation and sanctification? If so, then your ability to see God is blinded. You will be powerless when faced with difficulties and will be forced to endure in darkness. If your power to see has been blinded, don’t look back on your own experiences, but look to God. It is God you need. Go beyond yourself and away from the faces of your idols and away from everything else that has been blinding your thinking. Wake up and accept the ridicule that Isaiah gave to his people, and deliberately turn your thoughts and your eyes to God.

One of the reasons for our sense of futility in prayer is that we have lost our power to visualize. We can no longer even imagine putting ourselves deliberately before God. It is actually more important to be broken bread and poured-out wine in the area of intercession than in our personal contact with others. The power of visualization is what God gives a saint so that he can go beyond himself and be firmly placed into relationships he never before experienced.

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你對神的想像力衰退了嗎？

你們向上舉目，看誰創造這萬象。 （賽四十26）

以 賽亞時代神的百姓，只看偶像的面孔，以致缺乏想像力。以賽亞吩咐他們舉目望天，就是叫他們再用想像力。大自然對聖徒而言，是神聖的。我們若是神的兒女
，在大自然中就必發掘無限的寶藏。一陣微風，一個晝夜，天空的變化，大地的興衰，都實實在在是神向我們說話。只要我們運用那呆滯已久的想像力，便可以領略。

屬靈上的專一是一個考驗，要看我們能否利用想像力專一向神。你的[思想]是否向著偶像？這偶像是你自己？你的作為？你事奉的觀念？你得救與成聖的經歷？那末，你對神的想像力是呆滯了。當你面對困難，你就無能為力，只好在黑暗中忍受吧。你的想像力若是貧乏，切勿回頭看自己的經歷，因你需要的是神。你要擺脫偶像的羈絆，離開任何阻攔你思想神的事物。醒來吧，接受以賽亞對百姓的吩咐，把[心思意念]轉向神。

禱告含混模糊的原因之一是沒有想像力，沒有決志把自己擺在神面前。我們要先學習怎樣做劈開的餅，倒出來的酒，做代禱的工夫，多於做與人接觸的工作。想像力是神給聖徒的一種能力，叫他從[己]出來，進入從未經歷過的關係裡去。

祈禱◆噢，主啊，我完完全全地需要你！我來到你面前，求你藉著你的生命，慈愛地使我更新，以致我的理解力、想像力和說話，完全屬於你。今天，我尋求你的感動和使人振興的恩典。