「我禱告能夠真實地經歷神」
商慕義 Samuel
我叫Samuel，今年9嵗。我出生在一個基督徒家庭，從小爸爸媽媽會每天晚上給我講聖經。聖經告訴我，罪是一切上帝不喜歡的言語、行爲和想法。我知道我是一個罪人因爲我會撒謊，不聼爸爸媽媽的話，也會頂嘴、討價還價、沒有愛心。我很努力想做好，可是每次我都做不到。爸爸媽媽告訴我，靠我自己是做不到的，我需要耶穌來幫助我。耶穌因為愛我，來到這個世界，為我死在十字架上，三天後復活。只要我相信祂，祂就會赦免我的罪，給我一個新的生命，也會幫助我變得越來越像祂。於是在我五歲半的時候，我決定要相信耶穌，爸爸媽媽就帶我做了決志的禱告。
我做完決志禱告後，雖然繼續去教會，每天讀聖經，但我開始懷疑：我真的相信神嗎？媽媽跟我說，雖然我知道很多聖經故事，但還沒有真實經歷神。於是我們禱告我能夠真實地經歷神。上帝回應了我的禱告。一個例子就是我禱告我的朋友可以認識耶穌，後來我看見他變得很願意聼我講關於神的事。另一個例子就是我經常撒謊。以前我不覺得這有什麽問題，後來我覺得這是神不喜歡的，就禱告祂幫助我。結果我撒謊變少了。每當我做了錯事又想撒謊的時候，我感覺有個聲音告訴我不可以。有的時候我還是撒謊了，那個聲音又會告訴我要馬上去告訴爸爸媽媽，承認錯誤。有了這幾次的經驗，我知道神是真的，我也相信祂。
確認我相信後，接下來我應該按耶穌所説的接受浸禮，可是我很害羞、不敢在很多人面前受浸。一天，我和媽媽談論一個叫Jim Elliott的宣教士。他爲了跟別人分享耶穌，最後自己被殺害了。我覺得他很勇敢，因爲沒有人想死。相比之下，我的害羞不是什麽大問題，我也應該勇敢。我媽媽也鼓勵我說，如果我覺得這是對的事情，就放膽去做。於是我下定決心要受浸。
今天很高興我受浸了。謝謝神給我幫助我的爸爸媽媽，還有教會的同伴和長輩們。雖然我已經在經歷神的改變，但我知道我離完美還很遠。我相信祂會繼續帶領我。
Samuel見證視頻： https://youtu.be/lBJ91D59rF0
媽媽寄語：
「感謝神，孩子接受浸禮正式宣告自己跟隨耶穌的心志！作為父母，我們對孩子最大的盼望莫過於他能認識耶穌、跟隨耶穌，一生行在神看為正的道路上。人生路很長，作為父母我們無法一直陪伴左右，但耶穌卻能隨時隨地引領、指教、勸慰、保守。我們知道這是無比美好和充滿盼望的。」
——Julie
My name is Samuel. I am 9 years old. I was born in a Christian family and every night my parents would read the Bible to me. From the Bible I learned that sin is words, thoughts, and actions that displease God. I realized that I am sinner because I would lie, disobey my parent, argue, nag, and be very selfish. I wanted to be perfect so I tried not to do those things, but I kept on failing. My parents reminded me that we can’t do this on our own, we need Jesus to help us. Because Jesus loves us, he came to this world, died on the cross, and was raised to life again in three days. As long as I believe in him, my sins will be forgiven, and he will give me a new life and help me be more like him. So when I was five and a half, I decided that I wanted to believe in Jesus, so my parents led me to pray the Sinner’s Prayer.
After I prayed the Sinner’s Prayer, I kept going to church, attending Sunday School, and reading the Bible at night, but I started to doubt if I really believed in God. My mom said maybe it is because I only have head knowledge of Jesus but have not really experienced Him in a personal way, so I started to pray that I would experience God, and God answered my prayers. One example is that I prayed about my friend’s salvation and soon saw him being eager to learn more about God. Another example is that I was struggling with lying so I prayed to God for help. The result was that I started to lie less because whenever I wanted to lie about something bad I did, I felt a voice reminding not to. And the few times when I did lie, a voice would remind me to confess my parents. After experiencing God answering my prayers, I knew God was real and I believe in Him.
After making sure that I believe, I knew the next step would be baptism, as Jesus has taught. However, I was very shy and did not want to be baptized in front of a lot of people. One day, my mom and I were talking about a missionary named Jim Elliot. He sacrificed his life when sharing Jesus with others. I thought Jim Elliot was very brave for sacrificing his life for God because no one wants to die. In comparison, my shyness wasn’t a big problem, and I should be brave too. Then my mom said if it is the right thing to do, then do it. So I decided that I want to be baptized.
Today I am very happy because I am baptized. Although I have experienced God helping me be more like Him, I know I am still far from perfection. But God will continue to help me by reminding me not to do things that are displeasing Him, and when I do sin, He will also continue to remind me to turn back quickly.
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