一位父亲为儿子的祷告

一位父亲为儿子的祷告
  ——麦克阿瑟将军(General Douglas MacArthur)

"Build me a son, O Lord,
“主啊，恳求你教导我的儿子，

who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
在软弱时，能够坚强不屈；

and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;
在惧怕时，能够勇敢自持；

one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
在诚实的失败中，毫不气馁；

and humble and gentle in victory.
在光明的胜利中，仍能保持谦逊温和。

Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds;
教导他笃实力行而不空想。

a son who will know Thee…… and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
使他认识你，同时也认识他自己；这才是一切知识的基石。

Lead him, I pray,
主啊！我祈求你引领他：

not in the path of ease and comfort,
不要是他走上逸乐之途，

but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
宁可将他至于困难和挑战的磨砺与刺激之下。
Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm;
引领他，学习在风暴中挺身站立，

here let him learn compassion for those that fail.
而又由此学会怜恤那些在重压之下跌倒的人。
Build me a son whose heart will be clear,
求你让他有一颗纯洁的心，

whose goal will be high,
并有高尚的目标；

a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men;
使他在学习指挥别人之前，先懂得驾驭自己；

one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.
当迈入未来之时，永不遗忘过去。

And after all these things are his,
主啊！在他有了这些美德之后，

add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor,
我还要祈求你赐给他充分的幽默感，

so that he may always be serious,
使他能够认真严肃，

yet never take himself too seriously.
却也不过分苛求自己

Give him humility,
赐给他谦卑的心，

so that he may always remember
使他永远记得：

the simplicity of true greatness,
真正的伟大是单纯，

the open mind of true wisdom
真正的智慧是坦率，

and the meekness of true strength.
真正的力量是温和。

Then, I, his father will dare to whisper,
然后作为父亲的我，才敢轻轻地说：

‘I have not lived in vain.'"
我这一生总算没有虚度’”，

以上祷告，奉基督耶稣的名求。

　Amen
　阿门！
  麦克阿瑟(Douglas MacArthur)