弗六17~18 还要借着各样的祷告和祈求，接受救恩的头盔，并那灵的剑，那灵就是神的话；时时在灵里祷告，并尽力坚持，在这事上儆醒，且为众圣徒祈求。

　　西四2　 你们要坚定持续地祷告，在此儆醒感恩。

　　根据保罗在歌罗西四章二节的话，我们必须坚定持续的事，乃是祷告。我们必须坚定持续地祷告，因为祷告与争战有关。神与撒但双方彼此敌对。撒但这名字是对头的意思。……一面，他是仇敌，想要打败神；另一面，他是对头，在神的范围里想要制造破坏。撒但是对头，在神的范围、神的国度里敌挡神。圣经清楚的指明，甚至今天撒但都还能到神的宝座那里。在约伯记我们看见，撒但能站在神的宝座前，在祂面前控告人（一6~12）。我们很难明白，为什么神给仇敌这样的自由。按照启示录十二章十节，撒但昼夜控告我们（歌罗西书生命读经，七一八页）。

　　Eph. 6:17-18 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

　　Col. 4:2 Persevere in prayer, watching in it with thanksgiving.

　　According to Paul's word in Colossians 4:2, the thing that requires our perseverance is prayer. We need to persevere in prayer because prayer involves a battle, a fight. Two parties, God and Satan, are hostile to each other. The meaning of the name Satan is adversary….On the one hand, he is the enemy trying to defeat God; on the other hand, he is the adversary within God's realm seeking to cause damage. As the adversary, Satan opposes God from within God's realm, God's kingdom. This is the reason the Bible clearly indicates that even today Satan has access to the place of God's throne. In the book of Job we see that Satan can stand before the throne of God and accuse people before Him (Job 1:6-12). It is difficult for us to understand why God allows His enemy such freedom. According to Revelation 12:10, Satan accuses us day and night. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 577-578)

　　虽然在宇宙中激烈进行的争战是在神与撒但之间，但与另一方也有牵连。这第三方包括神所拣选并救赎的人，他们是真正决定这场争战胜负的人。如果我们与撒但站在一起，即使神是全能的，祂也会失败。神是无限、全能的创造者，祂不会降低自己来与一个受造之物争战。因此，神的另一种受造之物—人—就必须与撒但争战。实在说来，神需要我们。……祂必须维持创造者的身分。因这缘故，祂需要我们来进行争战的实际工作。

　　为要在神这边与撒但争战，我们需要坚定持续地祷告。这种坚定持续是必需的，因为整个世界的趋向都是远离神的。祷告乃是抵挡堕落宇宙中的潮流、趋势。坚定持续地祷告就像逆水行舟。……无疑的，要这样坚定持续地划船或祷告，都需要极大的力量。整个宇宙都在撒但的影响之下，与神的旨意相对。因此，世界上有一股强大的潮流，敌挡神的旨意。我们站在神这边的人，发现整个宇宙都在反对我们，尤其是反对我们的祷告。……我们想要祷告的时候，也许是〔电话，〕我们的孩子，门外的访客，或是家里的宠物，来搅扰我们。因着有许多东西会来敌挡我们的祷告，所以我们的确需要坚定持续地祷告。

　　在歌罗西四章二至四节，保罗转到祷告的事上。……〔二节说到要〕坚定持续，乃是〔指〕坚忍、坚定并热切的持续。在祷告上我们需要儆醒、警戒，不可轻忽。这种儆醒该带着感恩。……祷告乃是属灵的呼吸，祷告就是呼吸。……有些圣徒一听到祷告，就立刻问要如何祷告。我们都该忘掉如何祷告，就是简单的去祷告。譬如，小孩子学走路就是去走。……同样的原则，我们是借着祷告而学习祷告。

　　保罗在二节嘱咐我们，要坚定持续地祷告。这意思是说，我们不仅该持续祷告，更该奋力地持续祷告。在我们的环境中，几乎每件事都与祷告相逆。我们要祷告，就必须反对我们环境中的潮流。如果我们不祷告，我们就会随波逐流。唯有祷告能使我们反潮流；因此，我们需要持续的祷告，坚定的祷告。……保罗也鼓励我们要在祷告上儆醒。我们需要儆醒抵挡仇敌。我们不知道下一刻会有什么事情发生；我们需要儆醒，因为基督徒的生活乃是争战的生活，战斗的生活（歌罗西书生命读经，七一八至七一九、三一一至三一四页）。

　　参读：歌罗西书生命读经，第三十、六十五篇。

　　Although the battle raging in the universe is between God and Satan, another party is involved. This third party consists of God's chosen and redeemed people, the ones who will actually decide the outcome of the battle. If we take sides with Satan, God will lose, even though He is almighty As the infinite, all-powerful Creator, God will not lower Himself to fight against one of His creatures. Thus, it is necessary for another of God's creatures—man—to fight against Satan. In a very real sense, God needs us….He must maintain His status as the Creator. For this reason, He needs us to carry on the actual work of warfare.

　　In order to fight on God's side against Satan, we need to persevere in prayer. This perseverance is needed because the course of the whole world is away from God. To pray is to go against the current, the trend, in the fallen universe. Persevering in prayer is like rowing a boat upstream….No doubt, to persevere in this way, either in rowing or in praying, requires a great deal of energy. The entire universe is under Satan's influence and is contrary to God's will. Hence, there is a strong current in the world in opposition to the will of God. As those who take sides with God, we find that the whole universe is against us and, in particular, against our prayer. When we try to pray, we may…be disturbed by [a telephone call], by our children, by callers at the door, or by any animal pets there may be in the house. Because there is so much resistance to our prayer, we definitely need to persevere in prayer.

　　In Colossians 4:2-4 Paul turns to the matter of prayer. In verse 2…to persevere is to continue persistently, steadfastly, and earnestly. In prayer we need to be watchful and alert, not negligent. Such watchfulness should be accompanied by thanksgiving. Prayer is spiritual breathing. To pray is to breathe. When some saints hear a word about prayer, they immediately ask how to pray. We should forget about how and simply pray. For example, a child learns to walk by walking….In the same principle, we learn to pray by praying.

　　In 4:2 Paul charges us to persevere in prayer. This means that we should not merely continue in prayer, but we should strive to continue. Almost everything in our environment is contrary to prayer. In order to pray, we must go against the tide, the current, of our environment. If we fail to pray, we shall be swept downstream. Only prayer can enable us to go against the current. Therefore, we need to persevere in prayer, to pray persistently. Paul also encourages us to watch in prayer. We need to be watchful against the enemy. We do not know what will happen in the next few minutes. We need to be watchful because the Christian life is a life of fighting, a life of warfare. (Life-study of Colossians, pp. 578-579, 252-254)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Colossians, msgs. 65, 30