祷告就是与上帝坦诚地说心里话。

Prayer is simply an honest conversation with God.

Treat her as you should so your prayers will not be hindered. 1 Peter 3:7 NLT

你们也要体贴和尊重妻子……这样，你们的祷告就可以畅通无阻了。-彼得前书3章7节，-当代中译本

When the minister asked one of his elders to lead the congregation in prayer, the man shocked everyone. “I’m sorry, Pastor,” he said, “but I’ve been arguing with my wife all the way to church, and I’m in no condition to pray.” The next moment was awkward. The minister prayed. The service moved on. Later, the pastor vowed never to ask anyone to pray publicly without first asking privately.

有一次，牧师请一位长老带领会众祷告，长老的回答却震惊全场。他说：“牧师，真抱歉！今天来教会时，我跟我老婆不断地争吵，实在不适合带领祷告。”场面顿时变得十分尴尬，接着牧师自己带领会众祷告，礼拜程序也继续进行。但这件事让这位牧师决定，以后除非私下先沟通，否则再也不要当众请人祷告。

That man demonstrated astonishing honesty in a place where hypocrisy would have been easier. But there is a larger lesson about prayer here. God is a loving Father. If I as a husband do not respect and honor my wife—a cherished daughter of God—why would her heavenly Father hear my prayers?

在这样的场合中，伪装虔诚或许还比较容易，但这位长老却表现出惊人的诚实。然而就祷告而言，我们可以从这事件中学习重要的功课。上帝是位慈爱的天父，我的妻子是上帝所钟爱的女儿，而身为丈夫的我，若是不尊重敬爱妻子，那么爱她的天父为何要垂听我的祷告呢？

The apostle Peter made an interesting observation about this. He instructed husbands to treat their wives with respect and as equal heirs in Christ “so that nothing will hinder your prayers” (1 Peter 3:7). The underlying principle is that our relationships affect our prayer life.

使徒彼得对此也做了一番很特别的劝勉。他教导做丈夫的要敬重妻子，视妻子同为基督的后嗣，好让“你们的祷告就可以畅通无阻”（彼得前书3章7节，当代中译本）。这里潜在的道理是，我们的人际关系会影响祷告生活。

What would happen if we exchanged the Sunday smiles and the fa?ade of religiosity for refreshing honesty with our brothers and sisters? What might God do through us when we pray and learn to love each other as we love ourselves?

如果我们将主日的笑脸和外表的敬虔，换成与弟兄姐妹坦诚相待，那会是什么景况？如果我们祷告并学习爱人如己，你想上帝又会透过我们成就什么事呢？

Father, You love all of Your children, but so often we fight and disagree. Help us learn to interact with love and respect in all our relationships so the world will see the difference You make. Teach us to pray.

天父，祢爱祢所有的儿女，

但我们却常彼此相争、意见不合。
求祢帮助我们，学习爱和敬重他人，
好让世人看见祢改变了我们。求祢教导我们如何祷告。 

1 Peter 3:7-12 NIV

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

8 Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another,be compassionate and humble. 9 Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. 10 For,

“Whoever would love life
    and see good days
must keep their tongue from evil
    and their lips from deceitful speech.
11 They must turn from evil and do good;
    they must seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous
    and his ears are attentive to their prayer,
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

整理：于姊妹