让我们先看路加福音18章1-8节（和合本)的内容：

耶稣设一个比喻，是要人常常祷告，不可灰心。说：“某城里有一个官，不惧怕 神，也不尊重世人。那城里有个寡妇，常到他那里，说：‘我有一个对头，求你给我伸冤。’他多日不准，后来心里说：‘我虽不惧怕 神，也不尊重世人，只因这寡妇烦扰我，我就给她伸冤吧，免得她常来缠磨我！’”主说：“你们听这不义之官所说的话。 神的选民昼夜呼吁他，他纵然为他们忍了多时，岂不终久给他们伸冤吗？我告诉你们，要快快地给他们伸冤了。然而，人子来的时候，遇得见世上有信德吗？”

        从经文开头看，我们常常祷告失败，因为我们失去了信心。我们变得灰心、沮丧，然后不再像我们应该的那样祷告，在生活中各样来来回回的事情中反复发生几次之后便会连祷告的力气也没有了。

        在祷告中很容易失去信心，因为祷告是一项艰苦的工作，我们常常不以为然。在歌罗西书4章12节，保罗称赞一个名叫以巴弗的人，因为他常常竭力劳苦……他在祷告之间，常为你们竭力地祈求，愿你们在 神一切的旨意上得以完全，信心充足，能站立得稳。可以看出，保罗知道祷告是一项艰苦的工作，需要热诚的工作。莫里森试图解释为什么祷告是困难的，因为人的三个部分，即身心灵都参与了祷告：“有悟性，我们靠它聪明地工作；有心意，我们靠它心甘情愿地工作；有意志，我们靠它顽强地工作。”(莫里森)

        在祷告中很容易失去信心，还有一方面是因为魔鬼撒旦的搅扰，因为牠讨厌祷告。如果祈祷没有力量，那撒旦的‘工作’就容易多了，是不是？

        在祷告中很容易失去信心，更因为我们并不总是相信祷告的能力，太多时候，祈祷成为最后的应付手段，而不是当作紧急情况下乃至生活中的每一时刻的第一位资源需要去考虑。基督徒经常听到朋友或家人在疾难时经常听到的一句话便是：请为我们祷告。潜台词其实是：万一祈祷‘灵验’了呢？但他们，甚至基督徒本人也忽略了祷告在每一天的生活中所起到的作用和能力。

        回到经文中去体验耶稣所在环境的场景吧，需要知道的是，耶稣自始至终都在过着祷告的生活，从被约翰施洗到被钉于十字架，无时无刻不在与父神对话、祈求、交托。他活着不仅为自己祷告，更是为了为祂的子民祷告。凡靠着他进到 神面前的人，他都能拯救到底，因为他是长远活着，替他们祈求。(希伯来书 7:25 和合本)。

        我们的信（德）在哪里？除非我们知道神是谁（不像那不义的法官），除非我们是祷告而不灰心的人，否则我们还没有耶稣回来时所寻找的那种信心（德）。

        弟兄姐妹们，你们在祷告中还会丧失信心吗？

（如有建议敬请留言讨论，邮箱：[email protected]）

The Parable of Not Losing Heart

Let’s begin by looking at Luke 18:1–8 NKJV: Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying: “There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying, ‘Get justice for me from my adversary.’ And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, ‘Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.’ ” Then the Lord said, “Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” 

From the beginning of the passage, we see that our prayers often fail because we lose faith. We become discouraged and disheartened—and after repeated cycles of disappointments in various matters of life, we eventually lose even the strength to pray.

Prayer is an arduous task, and it’s all too easy to lose our faith in it. In Colossians 4:12, Paul praises a man named Ebarpho, commending him for his earnest labor and the way he constantly intercedes in prayer for others, so that they may be made complete in every will of God—with abundant faith so that they might stand firm. Clearly, Paul understood that prayer is hard work and requires sincere diligence.

Part of the difficulty in prayer is also due to the disruptive work of Satan, who despises prayer. If our prayers lack power, then Satan’s “work” becomes much easier, doesn’t it?

Moreover, we often do not fully trust in the power of prayer—too often, it becomes just an afterthought or a last resort rather than our primary resource in every urgent situation or every moment of life. Friends and family frequently say during times of distress, “Please pray for us.” The underlying implication is: “What if our prayers actually work?” Yet even believers sometimes overlook the vital role and power that prayer plays in every day of life.

Let us return to the passage and experience the context in which Jesus lived a life devoted to prayer—from His baptism by John all the way to His crucifixion. Jesus was constantly in dialogue with the Father, praying, and committing Himself to prayer. He did not pray only for Himself but also on behalf of His people. Every person who comes before God through Him will be saved to the very end, for He lives on to intercede for them (Hebrews 7:25).

So where is our faith? Unless we truly know who God is (unlike that unjust judge) and unless we pray without losing heart, we have not yet attained the kind of faith that is eagerly awaited until Jesus returns.

Beloved brothers and sisters, will you lose faith in your prayers?

NOTE: SOME OF THE EXEGESIS IS EXCERPTED FROM ENDURING WORD.

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