There is never a day when we don’t need to pray.

没有一天不需要祷告。

Pray continually. 1 Thessalonians 5:17

不住地祷告。-帖撒罗尼迦前书5章17节

Do you struggle to maintain a consistent prayer life? Many of us do. We know that prayer is important, but it can also be downright difficult. We have moments of deep communion with God and then we have times when it feels like we’re just going through the motions. Why do we struggle so in our prayers?

你是否觉得很难持守祷告生活呢？相信很多人都觉得确实如此。我们知道祷告很重要，但是要持续地祷告似乎很困难。有时，我们能向上帝倾心吐意，但有时却好像只是敷衍了事，为什么要专心恒切地祷告会这么难呢？

The life of faith is a marathon. The ups, the downs, and the plateaus in our prayer life are a reflection of this race. And just as in a marathon we need to keep running, so we keep praying. The point is: Don’t give up!

信心的生活就像是马拉松赛。在祷告生活中，我们会经历高峰、低谷和平稳状态，就像越野马拉松一样。此外，如同马拉松的选手需要不断地向前跑，我们也要持续不懈地祷告。重点是：不要放弃！

That is God’s encouragement too. The apostle Paul said, “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17), “keep on praying” (Rom. 12:12 ), and “devote yourselves to prayer” (Col. 4:2). All of these statements carry the idea of remaining steadfast and continuing in the work of prayer.

这也是上帝对我们的教导。使徒保罗说：「不住地祷告」（帖撒罗尼迦前书5章17节）、「祷告要恒切」（罗马书12章12节）、「你们要恒切祷告」（歌罗西书4章2节），这些经文不断地强调要坚持祷告的生活。

And because God, our heavenly Father, is a personal being, we can develop a time of close communion with Him, just as we do with our close human relationships. A. W. Tozer writes that as we learn to pray, our prayer life can grow “from the initial most casual brush to the fullest, most intimate communion of which the human soul is capable.” And that’s what we really want—deep communication with God. It happens when we keep praying.

我们的天父上帝是有位格的，所以我们可以和祂建立亲密的关系，就像我们和身边的人亲近一样。属灵导师陶恕曾经提到，当我们学习祷告，祷告生活就能逐渐成熟，「从一开始的偶然与主接触，渐渐进到人所能达到最完全、最亲密的心灵交流」。只要我们恒切地祷告，就能达到内心真正的渴望，与上帝深深地契合。

Dear Father, we often struggle to spend time with You. Help us to make the time, and help us sense Your goodness and presence.

亲爱的天父，我们经常没有花时间和祢亲近，

求祢帮助我们安排时间亲近祢，并感受祢的良善与同在。

Read: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-28 NIV

“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it. Brothers and sisters, pray for us. Greet all God’s people with a holy kiss. I charge you before the Lord to have this letter read to all the brothers and sisters. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”