第一部分：基督徒生活中的祈祷
Section One: Prayer in the Christian Life
2558「信仰的奥秘是大的！」教会在使徒信经中宣认这奥秘（卷一），并在圣事礼仪中庆祝这奥秘（卷二），使信徒的生活能在圣灵里效法基督，以光荣父神（卷三）。因此，这奥秘要求信徒相信它、庆祝它，并在与那又活又真的神建立起有生命、个人性的关系中，从它而活。这关系就是祈祷。
2558“Great is the mystery of the faith!” The Church professes this mystery in the Apostles’ Creed (Part One) and celebrates it in the sacramental liturgy (Part Two), so that the life of the faithful may be conformed to Christ in the Holy Spirit to the glory of God the Father (Part Three). This mystery, then, requires that the faithful believe in it, that they celebrate it, and that they live from it in a vital and personal relationship with the living and true God. This relationship is prayer.
什么是祈祷？
What Is Prayer?
\n > \n > 「对我来说，祈祷是心灵的涌动；是转向天上的简单一瞥；是承认与爱的呼喊，拥抱试炼也拥抱喜乐。」里修的圣德兰，Manuscrits autobiographiques，C 25r。
“For me, prayer is a surge of the heart; it is a simple look turned toward heaven, it is a cry of recognition and of love, embracing both trial and joy.”St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Manuscrits autobiographiques, C 25r.
祈祷作为神的恩赐
Prayer as God’s gift
2559「祈祷就是举心向神，或向神求合宜的恩惠。」大马士革的圣约翰，De fide orth. 3，24：PG 94，1089C。但我们祈祷时，是从自己骄傲与意志的高处说话，还是「从深处」——从谦卑而痛悔的心发出呢？诗 130:1。自卑的，必升为高。参路 18:9-14。谦卑是祈祷的基础。只有当我们谦卑地承认「我们本不晓得当怎样祷告」罗 8:26。时，我们才准备好白白领受祈祷的恩赐。「人是在神面前的乞丐。」圣奥古斯丁，Sermo 56，6，9：PL 38，381。
2559“Prayer is the raising of one’s mind and heart to God or the requesting of good things from God.”St. John Damascene, De fide orth. 3,24: PG 94,1089C. But when we pray, do we speak from the height of our pride and will, or “out of the depths” of a humble and contrite heart?Ps 130:1. He who humbles himself will be exalted;Cf. Lk 18:9-14. humility is the foundation of prayer. Only when we humbly acknowledge that “we do not know how to pray as we ought”Rom 8:26. are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer. “Man is a beggar before God.”St. Augustine, Sermo 56,6,9: PL 38,381.
2560「你若知道神的恩赐！」约 4:10。祈祷的奇妙，在井旁被揭示出来：我们来寻水时，基督在那里迎向每一个人。是他先寻找我们，并向我们要水喝。耶稣口渴；他的请求出自神对我们之渴望的深处。无论我们是否意识到，祈祷就是神的干渴与我们的干渴相遇。神渴望我们渴望他。参圣奥古斯丁，De diversis quaestionibus octoginta tribus 64，4：PL 40，56。
2560“If you knew the gift of God!”Jn 4:10. The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.Cf. St. Augustine, De diversis quaestionibus octoginta tribus 64,4: PL 40,56.
2561「你若早求他，他也必早给了你活水。」约 4:10。矛盾的是，我们求告的祈祷，其实是对那位永生的神之恳求的回应：「因为我的百姓作了两件恶事，就是离弃我这活水的泉源，为自己凿出池子，是破裂不能存水的池子。」耶 2:13。祈祷是信心对救恩白白应许的回应，也是爱对神独生子之干渴的回应。参约 7:37-39；19:28；赛 12:3；51:1；亚 12:10；13:1。
2561“You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”Jn 4:10. Paradoxically our prayer of petition is a response to the plea of the living God: “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water!”Jer 2:13. Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God.Cf. Jn 7:37-39; 19:28; Isa 12:3; 51:1; Zech 12:10; 13:1.
祈祷作为约
Prayer as covenant
2562祈祷从哪里来？不论祈祷是用言语还是用姿态表达，祈祷的是整个人。但当圣经指明祈祷的源头时，有时说是灵魂或灵，却最常说的是心（超过一千次）。按圣经的说法，是心在祈祷。如果我们的心远离神，祈祷的话语就是徒然。
2562Where does prayer come from? Whether prayer is expressed in words or gestures, it is the whole man who prays. But in naming the source of prayer, Scripture speaks sometimes of the soul or the spirit, but most often of the heart (more than a thousand times). According to Scripture, it is the heart that prays. If our heart is far from God, the words of prayer are in vain.
2563心是我所在之处，是我生活之处；按闪族或圣经的说法，心是「我退回去」的地方。心是我们隐藏的中心，超出我们的理性和他人的把握；只有神的灵能洞察人的心，并完全认识它。心是作决定的地方，比我们的心理冲动更深。心是真理的地方，我们在那里选择生命或死亡。心是相遇的地方：因为我们作为神的形象，是活在关系之中；心是约的地方。
2563The heart is the dwelling-place where I am, where I live; according to the Semitic or biblical expression, the heart is the place “to which I withdraw.” The heart is our hidden center, beyond the grasp of our reason and of others; only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter, because as image of God we live in relation: it is the place of covenant.
2564基督徒祈祷是在基督里，神与人之间的约的关系。它是神与人的行动，既从圣灵也从我们里面涌出，完全指向父，并与那位成了人的神子之人性意志相结合。
2564Christian prayer is a covenant relationship between God and man in Christ. It is the action of God and of man, springing forth from both the Holy Spirit and ourselves, wholly directed to the Father, in union with the human will of the Son of God made man.
祈祷作为共融
Prayer as communion
2565在新约里，祈祷是神的儿女与那无比良善的父、与他的子耶稣基督、并与圣灵之间的生活关系。天国的恩典就是「至圣、君尊的三位一体……与整个人的灵的结合」。圣额我略·纳齐安，Oratio 16，9：PG 35，945。因此，祈祷生活就是习惯于活在那至圣的神面前，并与他共融。这生命的共融永远是可能的，因为借着洗礼，我们已经与基督联合了。参罗 6:5。祈祷之所以是基督徒的，在于它与基督共融，并遍及整个教会——他的身体。祈祷的尺度就是基督的爱。参弗 3:18-21。
2565In the New Covenant, prayer is the living relationship of the children of God with their Father who is good beyond measure, with his Son Jesus Christ and with the Holy Spirit. The grace of the Kingdom is “the union of the entire holy and royal Trinity . . . with the whole human spirit.”St. Gregory of Nazianzus, Oratio 16,9: PG 35,945. Thus, the life of prayer is the habit of being in the presence of the thrice-holy God and in communion with him. This communion of life is always possible because, through Baptism, we have already been united with Christ.Cf. Rom 6:5. Prayer is Christian insofar as it is communion with Christ and extends throughout the Church, which is his Body. Its dimensions are those of Christ’s love.Cf. Eph 3:18-21.