1. Hello, listening friends. We are delighted that you joined us once more.
亲爱的朋友，你好！很高兴你能再次收听这个节目。
2. We are glad to tell you that we are beginning a new series of messages on the Lord’s Prayer.
从今天开始，我们要进入一个新的系列信息，这个系列是关于“主祷文”的。
3. Although it is known as the "Lord’s Prayer," it is really the Disciples’ prayer;
虽然大家都知道，这叫做主祷文，但其实是门徒的祷文；
4. but we’re going to begin by talking about the power of prayer;
今天我要先和你谈一谈祷告的能力；
5. and I want to tell you, at the outset, that, probably, there is no time when Satan is more active in your life and mine than in the time of prayer.
首先，我要提醒你，当我们祷告的时候，也是撒但最活跃的时刻。
6. Satan, of course, is always on the move, planning and scheming to trap the believer who’s not watchful;
当然啦，撒但随时都不安分，总是设计要陷害那些不儆醒的信徒。
7. but Satan moves with the speed of lightning whenever he sees you in prayer.
但是，当撒但发现你正在祷告，他就会更加猖狂。
8. Many people erroneously think that prayer time is a time when Satan leaves you alone.
很多人误以为，祷告的时候，撒但就会离开你。
9. The opposite is true.
其实，刚刚相反。
10. Whenever you’re getting ready to pray,
每当你准备祷告，
11. the phone will ring,
电话铃就响了，
12. or, the doorbell will ring.
或者门铃响了。
13. You will remember things that need to be done.
也许你会想起来还有事情要做。
14. Whenever you’re getting ready to pray,
每当你正要祷告的时候，
15. somebody will interrupt you.
就有人来打扰你，
16. Why?
为什么呢？
17. Because Satan knows that prayer is the secret of your power.
因为撒但知道，祷告是你得能力的秘诀。
18. If Satan can cut your power supply at the source, he has succeeded in weakening you spiritually.
一旦撒但切断了你能力的来源，他就可以削弱你属灵的能力。
19. Prayer was the spiritual air that Jesus breathed every moment of His earthly life.
当主耶稣在世上的时候，祷告就是祂每时每刻属灵的呼吸。
20. He told His Disciples, “I have food of which you know not.”
祂曾对祂的门徒说：“我有食物吃，是你们不知道的。”
21. When you pray,
在你祷告的时候，
22. you experience the height of what it means to be in the company of God.
你会经历与神同在是何等地美妙。
23. When you pray,
在你祷告的时候，
24. you spiritually breathe, and, thus, you are spiritually alive;
就是你属灵的呼吸，因此也显出你属灵的活力；
25. but the problem is this:
但问题是：
26. so many of us were taught bad habits of praying,
我们在祷告方面学了些不好的习惯，
27. or, the wrong way to pray;
或者说，错误的祷告方式；
28. and we, often, fall back into those bad habits.
而且，我们常常犯这些老毛病。
29. Prayer is not to inform God.
祷告不是给神下通知。
30. Prayer is not to persuade God.
祷告也不是要说服神。
31. No, no, no;
都不是的；
32. but prayer is surrender before God.
祷告乃是对神的降服。
33. Prayer is obedience to God.
祷告就是顺从神的旨意。
34. Prayer is sincerity before God.
祷告是在神面前赤露敞开。
35. Some people try to argue that, if God knows everything, then why do we need to pray?
也许有人会说，既然神无所不知，为什么我们还要向祂祷告呢？
36. Oh, but God wants to hear us.
其实，神喜欢听我们跟祂说话。
37. God wants to commune with us more than we want to commune with Him.
神喜欢跟我们谈心，过于我们想与祂亲近的心愿。
38. Why?
为什么呢？
39. Because God’s love for us is greater than our love for Him.
因为神对我们的爱远远超过我们对祂的爱。
40. To pray rightly is to pray with a pure motive.
正确的祷告，应该有纯正的动机。
41. To pray rightly is to pray for God to manifest His power and glory.
正确的祷告，就是祈求神彰显祂的能力和荣耀。
42. To pray rightly is to give God an opportunity to be manifested.
正确的祷告，就是让神有机会彰显祂自己。
43. Jesus told the Pharisees that thoughtless, repetitious prayer will go nowhere.
耶稣警告法利赛人说：重复、无心的祷告，是没有功效的。
44. There are some who will light a candle and think that, as long as a candle is lit, their petitions are continuously coming before the presence of God.
有些人以为，只要点燃一支蜡烛，在蜡烛熄灭之前，他们的祈求就会一直蒙神垂听。
45. That is both mechanical and thoughtless.
这是死板又无心的祷告。
46. When you understand that prayer is primarily a joyous, intimate fellowship with God, Himself,
只有当你明白了，祷告乃是你和神之间亲密喜乐的交谈，
47. then, you can understand how offensive candles and mere repetitious reciting of memorized words are to God.
这时你才会明白，点蜡烛和重复背诵固定的字句是多么的得罪神。
48. Let me put this in a human perspective.
让我从人情的角度来看这个问题。
49. Can you imagine two people in love with each other, but who will talk to each other only if they need something?
你想想看，两个彼此相爱的人，只在有需要的时候才开口讲话，可能吗？
50. Can you imagine a relationship between two people developing and growing, but the only way to communicate is to get on the phone and give the other person a list of requests and, then, hang up?
你想，两个人的关系越来越亲密，但他们之间的交流只是抓起电话，把自己的要求一项一项说完了就挂电话，这可能吗？
51. Can you imagine what happens to the relationship between a husband and wife who talk to each other only a few minutes a day?
假如夫妻之间一天只说几分钟的话，你觉得他们的关系会怎么样呢？
52. But five minutes is how long the average Christian spends in daily prayer,
然而，一般的基督徒，平均每天只花5分钟来祷告，
53. and people often wonder why their prayers are not answered.
他们却常常疑惑，神为什么不听他们的祷告。
54. Often, it is because, not only we don’t pray, but we don’t know how to pray, or, what to pray;
其实，很多时候，不但是因为我们不祷告，也因为我们不知道该怎样祷告，该祷告些什么；
55. and, yet, the Scripture’s full of examples of answered prayer.
然而，圣经中充满了神答应祷告的例子。
56. When Abraham’s servant, Eleazar, prayed, Rebekah appeared.
亚伯拉罕的仆人以利以谢向神祷告，利百加就出现了。
57. When Jacob wrestled in prayer, Esau’s mind changed from twenty years of plotting revenge to warmth and love and forgiveness.
雅各与神摔跤祷告，以扫廿年来复仇的计划，竟变成对兄弟的饶恕和友爱。
58. When Moses prayed, powerful Amalek was struck.
摩西向神祷告，亚玛力人就吃了败仗。
59. When Joshua prayed, the sun stood still in its orbit.
约书亚向神祷告，太阳就在它的轨道上停了下来。
60. When barren Hannah prayed, Samuel was born.
原来不能生育的哈拿向神祷告，撒母耳就出生了。
61. When Isaiah and Hezekiah prayed, 185,000 Assyrians were decimated in under twelve hours.
以赛亚和希西家祷告神，十八万五千亚述敌军在短短12小时内被消灭。
62. When Elijah prayed for the rain to stop, a three-year drought came to pass;
以利亚求神不要降雨在地上，三年的旱灾就临到他们；
63. then, Elijah prayed again and it rained.
之后，以利亚又求神，雨就降下来。
64. When you are in close fellowship with God,
当你和神有了亲密的关系，
65. when you are at peace with God,
当你跟神恢复了和好的关系，
66. when you are walking daily with God,
当你每天与神同行，
67. not only will you know how to pray, but you will know what to pray.
你不仅知道该如何祷告，也懂得该祷告些什么。
68. Now, the problem with our attitude toward prayer is this:
我们对祷告的态度，常犯的毛病就是：
69. we love to pray, if it is convenient.
在方便的时候，我们才乐意祷告。
70. We love to pray, if it fits into our busy lifestyle.
如果能配合我们忙碌的生活作息，我们才喜欢祷告。
71. We love to pray, if it does not conflict with all the important things we do.
只要和我们认为重要的事情不发生冲突的话，我们就很乐意祷告。
72. My listening friends, I want to tell you something of vital importance.
我亲爱的朋友，我想告诉你一些非常重要的事情。
73. God is not impressed by what you do, as much as He’s impressed by your spending time with Him.
在神看来，你花时间与神相处，比你为祂做工更为重要。
74. We miss God’s best when we miss God’s purpose in prayer;
假如我们不明白神要我们祷告的目的，就会错过神所赐最好的福气；
75. and that’s precisely what we will be learning, together, in this series of messages from the Lord’s Prayer.
这就是我们在“主祷文”这个系列信息里，一同来学习的内容。
76. The ultimate purpose in prayer is for God to be glorified.
祷告最终的目的就是要归荣耀给神。
77. While we are greatly blessed when we pray,
虽然，祷告让我们得到神极大的赐福，
78. nonetheless, the purpose of our prayer should be God, not us.
但是，祷告的目的是为了神，而不是我们。
79. Prayer is God’s opportunity to reveal His goodness and His power.
神通过祷告来彰显祂的美善和大能。
80. Listen to what Jesus said, in John 14:13:
请听耶稣在约翰福音14：13节所说的话﹕
你们奉我的名，无论求什么，我必成就，叫父因儿子得荣耀。
81. Prayer should be for God’s glory, not just for our needs;
祷告应该是为了神的荣耀，而不是为了我们的需要；
82. and what I’m going to tell you is of vital importance.
这一点非常重要。
83. For a long time, people have been divided on the purpose of prayer.
长期以来，许多人为了什么是「祷告的目的」而有所争论。
84. Let me summarize both views.
双方的意见是这样的：
85. Some people see prayer as simply lining up with God regarding what He has already determined to do.
有些人认为，祷告就是附和神既定的旨意。
86. Other people see prayer as asking God to do what He could not do if they did not pray.
而另一些人则认为，如果他们不祷告，神就不会去做那件事。
87. I don’t want you to misunderstand what I’m going to tell you.
请不要误解我所要说的意思。
88. The Scripture teaches both views;
圣经在这两方面都有教导；
89. and we are under obligation to hold both views in tension.
而且，我们需要平衡这两种观点。
90. The Bible teaches that God is absolutely sovereign;
圣经告诉我们，神有绝对的主权；
91. but the Bible, also, unequivocally teaches that God, within His sovereignty, responds to His people when they pray correctly.
但圣经同时也清楚地教导我们，神在祂的主权之内，也会答应祂儿女正确的祷告。
92. If you emphasize one way of praying over the other, you will miss out on the blessings of God.
如果你只强调一种观点，而忽略了另一种观点，你就会失掉一些神的赐福。
93. To put God in a theological box and say, "This is the way God works. There is no other way," you will not grow spiritually.
如果只是用一些理论来限定神的作为，却否定了神其它的工作方式，你属灵的生命就无法成长。
94. There are people whose prayer is cold and calculated, because they believe it will not make a difference;
有些人的祷告是死板沉闷的，因为他们认为祷告起不了什么作用。
95. then, there are others who think that God is paralyzed without their prayer.
而另外一些人则认为，假如他们不祷告的话，神就会瘫痪无法做事。
96. All of these attitudes are wrong.
这些态度都是错误的。
97. All of these ideas are extreme.
这些都是极端的观点。
98. When the Bible gives us what seems to be two opposite views, we are blessed when we hold both views in tension.
圣经给我们两种看起来似乎是不同的意见，只要我们懂得持守平衡，就能蒙福。
99. We are blessed, when we don’t fight and argue among ourselves over this tension.
假如我们不为这些不同的观点而起争论的话，我们就有福了。
100. We are blessed, when we fully trust God’s purpose.
如果我们完全信靠神的心意，我们就有福了。
101. We are blessed, when we refuse to over-systematize the Bible,
如果我们不过份地去理性化圣经，我们就有福了。
102. or, try to organize God according to our limited understanding.
如果我们不靠有限的头脑来分析归纳神，我们就有福了。
103. I’m going to say more about this in the next broadcast, but let me say this much now:
在下次的节目中，我会讲更多关于这方面的问题，今天，我只讲一点点：
104. when children are small, they often ask their parents for all kinds of things.
当孩子还小的时候，他们经常向父母要很多东西。
105. Do parents give their children everything they ask for?
父母会不会满足他们所有的要求呢？
106. Of course not.
当然不会。
107. We give them, and continue to give them, only what is best for them.
我们只会把对他们有益的东西给他们。
108. If fallen men and women, like us, know how to give good gifts to their children,
我们虽然不好，尚且知道拿好东西给儿女，
109. how much more will the perfect, heavenly Father give His children?
我们完全的天父，岂不把更好的赏给祂的儿女吗？
110. God, in His magnificence, knew that, often, we don’t have the wisdom to pray as we ought, or, for what we ought;
很多时候，我们不知道该求什么，或怎样来求，但无与伦比的天父了解我们；
111. therefore, God commissioned the Holy Spirit to teach us how to pray.
因此，神就派圣灵来教导我们如何祷告。
112. We do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit, Himself, intercedes for us with groaning too deep for words.
我们本不晓得当怎样祷告，只是圣灵亲自用说不出来的叹息替我们祷告。
113. That is why, in Matthew 6:9 to 15, Jesus gave us a succinct, meticulous and comprehensive outline of what true prayer should be.
这就是为什么耶稣在马太福音6：9-15里，给我们提供了一个模范祷告，简单扼要的大纲。
114. This outline is called, "The Lord's Prayer."
这个祷告大纲就叫做“主祷文”。
115. It is divided into two sections.
主祷文可分成两部份。
116. The first section deals with God’s glory.
第一部份关于神的荣耀。
117. The second section deals with our needs;
第二部份提到我们的需要；
118. but, even when God meets our needs, God is glorified.
即便是在满足我们需要的时候，神同样也能得到荣耀。
119. In order to focus our attention toward this upcoming series of broadcasts, let me give you a few things to think about.
为了让你能集中思想今后这个系列中所要讲的内容，现在就请你思考几个问题。
120. Jesus does not tell us where to pray,
耶稣并没有提到，我们应该在哪里祷告，
121. except that we are to pray constantly, with our full attention, as He tells us, in Matthew 6:6,
但祂在马太福音6：6节那里告诉我们，应当专注地，恒切地祷告，
122. in your inner room.
在你的内室里。
123. Secondly,
第二，
124. He does not suggest any time to pray, although He, Himself, rose early in the morning;
祂没有建议我们应该在什么时间来祷告，然而祂自己在清晨就起来祷告；
125. but we should pray in every conceivable circumstance.
但我们应该在任何可能的环境里祷告。
126. We should pray before meals.
吃饭以前，我们应该祷告。
127. We pray after meals.
饭后，我们也应该祷告。
128. We pray during special circumstances.
在特别的情况里，我们要祷告。
129. We pray before meetings.
在开会以先要祷告。
130. We pray after meetings.
在会议之后要祷告。
131. Pray getting into a car and pray getting out of a car.
开车前和开车后都要祷告。
132. We pray in the marketplace, or, wherever we may be.
在菜市场要祷告，在任何地方都要祷告。
133. Thirdly,
第三，
134. Jesus does not specify any special clothing to wear, or special posture to take, in prayer.
耶稣没有教导我们在祷告的时候应当穿什么衣服，或用什么样的姿势。
135. Why?
为什么呢？
136. Because prayer is to be a way of life.
因为祷告就是生活。
137. We need to understand how to pray;
我们需要明白怎样祷告；
138. and that is why Jesus gave this pattern of prayer to His Disciples, which we call, "The Lord's Prayer."
因此耶稣以“主祷文”给予祂的门徒一个祷告的典范。
139. Now, there are some people who attach superstitious, or magical, benefits from reciting the Lord's Prayer.
有些人给主祷文加上了迷信的色彩，认为背诵主祷文就会产生神秘的功效。
140. That could not be further from the truth.
其实这完全不符合真理。
141. Let me give you several reasons.
让我告诉你几个理由：
142. First,
第一，
143. Jesus said, “Pray, then, in this way….”
耶稣说：“你们祷告要这样说… ”
144. "In this way" means "along these lines."
“这样说”的意思就是“按照这个思路”。
145. "In this way" means "in the following manner."
“这样说”指的是“用这种方式”。
146. "In this way" means "in such a pattern."
“这样说”，就是“按照这种模式”。
147. Second,
第二，
148. in Matthew 6:5 to 8, Jesus had just warned His followers not to pray with meaningless repetition;
因为耶稣刚刚才在马太福音6：5-8节那里，警戒祂的门徒不要用许多重复无意义的话来祷告。
149. therefore, He could not possibly give us a prayer to recite verbatim without understanding.
所以，主绝对不会给我们一篇祷词，让我们不加思索地去背诵。
150. Third,
第三，
151. nowhere in the New Testament do we find an instance of the Lord's Prayer being just repeated by anyone,
我们在整卷新约当中也找不到一个只背诵主祷文的例子来，
152. or, used in repetitious and ritualistic routines.
新约也没有任何地方记载背诵主祷文的礼仪。
153. It is fine to recite the Lord's Prayer as part of reciting Scripture.
如果把主祷文当作经文来朗读，那是可以的。
154. Certainly, it’s fine to memorize it, as we memorize Scripture;
如果就像背金句那样背诵主祷文，那当然也很好；
155. but, if we pray it by rote and think that we have prayed, we have missed God’s purpose for prayer.
但是，假如我们把背诵主祷文当做我们已经祷告了，那就误解了神要我们祷告的心意。
156. What Jesus wants us to learn is to follow its pattern of praise, adoration, petition and so on.
其实，主耶稣是要教导我们，祷告的时候要学习赞美、敬拜、祈求的模式，等等。
157. It is a guide for our prayer life, not a substitute for it.
主祷文是教导我们如何祷告的指南，而不是祷告的代用品。
158. Let me repeat, as I’m getting ready to close.
结束前，让我再重复一次。
159. The purpose of prayer is God.
祷告的目的是朝向神。
160. From beginning to end, the Lord's Prayer has God at the center.
主祷文自始至终都是以神为中心。
161. Until our next broadcast, when we talk about the fatherhood of God, I wish you God’s richest blessing.
下一次，我会讲“神是天父”这个主题，愿神大大地赐福给你，我们下次节目再见。
