【帖后1:11-12】因此，我们常为你们祷告，愿我们的神看你们配得过所蒙的召，又用大能成就你们一切所羡慕的良善和一切因信心所做的工夫；叫我们主耶稣的名在你们身上得荣耀，你们也在他身上得荣耀，都照着我们的神并主耶稣基督的恩。

我们和我们的祖先，跟帖撒罗尼迦人一样，都曾拜偶像，活在淫乱与仇恨中，与神隔绝；We and our ancestors, like the Thessalonians, once worshipped idols, lived in sexual immorality and hatred, and were cut off from God; 一代又一代像孤儿一样在世界流浪，没有指望。generation after generation we wandered through the world like orphans, without hope. No one could rescue us from the pain and despair within our hearts.无人能帮助我们脱离心中的苦楚和绝望。是神怜悯我们、拣选我们。何等大而可畏的神，却顾念着渺小的我们，看我们为宝贵，亲自为我们流血舍命，救我们脱离黑暗和死亡。It was God who showed mercy to us and chose us. How great and awe-inspiring is this God, who still remembered us in our smallness, counted us as precious, and personally shed His blood and gave His life to save us from darkness and death.你不但拯救我们，还要赐给我们丰盛的生命。You not only saved us, but also desire to give us abundant life.

当帖撒罗尼迦教会在逼迫与攻击之中，属灵争战极其艰难的时候，保罗看见神已经在信徒身上的工作，也看见他们在爱心和信心里追求良善的渴慕。When the Thessalonian church was under persecution and attack, and the spiritual battle was fierce, Paul saw the work God had already begun in the believers, and he also saw their deep desire to pursue goodness through love and faith. 于是他不断地为他们恳切祈求，鼓励他们为了神的荣耀，也为了他们将来的荣耀，持守在神的恩召里。For this reason, he continually prayed for them with urgency, encouraging them to remain steadfast in God’s calling, for the glory of God and also for their future glory.

这是神的爱，把一颗为父为母、不离不弃爱神儿女的心放在保罗里面。This is the love of God: He placed within Paul a father’s and a mother’s heart—a heart that loves God’s children without giving up on them. 借着保罗的祷告，神要施恩托住帖撒罗尼迦的信徒，如同父母在最困难的时刻，尽心竭力，托举自己的孩子。Through Paul’s prayers, God extended grace to uphold the Thessalonian believers, just as parents, in the hardest moments, give everything they have to lift up and support their children. 要让主的大能成全信徒的信心，使他们本于信、以至于信；让主的恩成为信徒的避难所、坚固台，成为他们与仇敌争战的力量。God’s power was at work to bring their faith to completion, so that it would grow from faith to faith; and the Lord’s grace became their refuge and stronghold, the strength by which they could stand and fight against the enemy.

主啊，你看见帖撒罗尼迦教会在逼迫中的眼泪、忍耐与信心；你也同样看见我们在争战中的软弱与渴慕。Lord, You saw the tears, perseverance, and faith of the Thessalonian church in persecution, and You also see our weakness and longing in the midst of spiritual battle. 感谢你把代祷的心放在保罗里面，用不离不弃的爱，借着祷告托住你的百姓。Thank You for placing a heart of intercession in Paul, and for upholding Your people through prayer with love that never abandons.

主啊，如今我们看到，你照样托住我们。在患难中，你的恩手扶持我们，使我们不偏离你的呼召。Lord, today we see that You uphold us in the same way. In times of hardship, Your gracious hand sustains us and keeps us from turning away from Your calling. 用你的大能，成就我们对你良善的渴慕，也坚固我们的信望爱。By Your power, fulfil in us our longing for what is good, and strengthen our faith, hope, and love.

主啊，愿我们能够在更多磨难的日子里，为自己祷告，也为众圣徒祈求，使我们靠着你的恩，使你的名，在我们身上得着荣耀；Lord, may we, in days of greater trial, pray not only for ourselves but also for all the saints, so that by Your grace, Your name may be glorified in us; 也愿我们在你里面得着真正的荣耀——不是世界的称赞，乃是在患难中仍然站立得住的生命，可以在耶稣基督显现的时候，得着称赞、荣耀、尊贵。and may we also receive true glory in You—not the praise of this world, but a life that stands firm through suffering, and that at the appearing of Jesus Christ receives praise, glory, and honour.

（李姊妹 Sister Li）