如何为不信主的家人祷告?
How should we pray for unsaved family members?
简答 Short Answer
持续恒切地祷告,求上帝打开他们的心眼,赐他们悔改的心和信主的信心。同时用敬虔的生命见证福音,把结果交给上帝的主权。
Pray persistently for God to open their eyes, grant them repentance and faith. Meanwhile, witness through a godly life and entrust the results to God's sovereignty.
详细解答 Detailed Answer
为不信的家人祷告是许多基督徒最深的负担。以下几点可以帮助你:
第一,求上帝打开他们的心眼。「此等不信之人被这世界的神弄瞎了心眼」(林后4:4)。人不信不是因为证据不够,而是因为灵里的瞎眼。只有上帝能打开人的眼睛。吕底亚信主,是因为「主就开导她的心,叫她留心听保罗所讲的话」(徒16:14)。
第二,求上帝赐他们悔改的心。「或者上帝给他们悔改的心,可以明白真道」(提后2:25)。悔改本身就是上帝的恩赐,不是人自己能产生的。
第三,持续不懈地祷告。耶稣讲了寡妇和不义的官的比喻,教导我们「常常祷告,不可灰心」(路18:1)。奥古斯丁的母亲莫尼卡为他祷告了将近三十年,最终看到儿子归主。不要放弃。
第四,用生命见证。彼得劝做妻子的:「你们的丈夫,就是有不信从道理的,他们虽然不听道,也可以因妻子的品行被感化过来」(彼前3:1)。祷告和见证要并行。
第五,信靠上帝的主权和时间。救恩是上帝的工作,不是我们的。「不是你们拣选了我,是我拣选了你们」(约15:16)。我们负责忠心祷告,上帝负责成就祂的旨意。把焦虑交给祂。
Praying for unsaved family is one of the deepest burdens many Christians carry. Here are some guides:
First, ask God to open their eyes. 'The god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers' (2 Cor 4:4). Unbelief isn't about insufficient evidence but spiritual blindness. Only God can open eyes. Lydia believed because 'the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul' (Acts 16:14).
Second, ask God to grant repentance. 'God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth' (2 Tim 2:25). Repentance itself is God's gift, not something humans can produce.
Third, pray persistently. Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow to teach us to 'always pray and not lose heart' (Luke 18:1). Augustine's mother Monica prayed nearly thirty years before seeing her son come to faith. Don't give up.
Fourth, witness through your life. Peter advises wives: 'Even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives' (1 Pet 3:1). Prayer and witness go together.
Fifth, trust God's sovereignty and timing. Salvation is God's work, not ours. 'You did not choose me, but I chose you' (John 15:16). We are responsible to pray faithfully; God is responsible for accomplishing His will. Cast your anxiety on Him.
📖 经文引用 Bible Verses
📚 推荐阅读 Related Readings
- •提摩太·凯勒,《祷告》;Tim Keller, Prayer📖
- •以弗所书 6:18-20;Ephesians 6:18-20
