One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. 

“There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’”

​Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his children who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! ​

​耶穌講了一個比喻來教導門徒要常常禱告，不要灰心。

祂說：「某城有一位既不敬畏上帝也不尊重人的審判官。那城裡有一位寡婦常常來哀求這位審判官，說，『求你為我伸冤，懲辦我的對頭。』 審判官總是充耳不聞，但後來心裡想，『雖然我不怕上帝，也不在乎人， 可是這寡婦一直來煩我，還是替她伸冤好了，免得她再來煩我！』」

主接著說：「你們聽，這不義的審判官尚且這麼說， 難道上帝聽到祂揀選的人晝夜呼求，不替他們伸冤嗎？難道祂會一直耽延不理嗎？我告訴你們，祂必很快為他們伸冤。

Images by Didier Martin.

Automobile genius Henry Ford once came up with a revolutionary plan for a new kind of engine which we know today as the V-8. Ford was eager to get his great new idea into production. He had some men draw up the plans, and presented them to the engineers. As the engineers studied the drawings, one by one they came to the same conclusion. Their visionary boss just didn’t know much about the fundamental principles of engineering. He’d have to be told gently—his dream was impossible.

Ford said, “Produce it anyway.” They replied, “But it’s impossible.” “Go ahead,” Ford commanded, “and stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required.”

For six months they struggled with drawing after drawing, design after design. Nothing. Another six months. Nothing. At the end of the year Ford checked with his engineers and they once again told him that what he wanted was impossible. Ford told them to keep going. They did. And they discovered how to build a V-8 engine.

​When we don’t quit, anything is possible.

​汽車界天才亨利·福特曾經提出一個革命性的計畫，要發明一種新的引擎，就是今天為人所知的V-8引擎。福特渴望把他偉大的新點子投入生產。他請畫圖員起草了計畫，並把它們交給汽車設計師。汽車設計師們逐一研究圖樣，得出同樣的結論：他們這位有遠見的老闆對汽車設計的基本原則瞭解不多。他必須被溫和地告知：他的夢想是不可能實現的。

福特說：「無論如何都要生產它。」他們回答說：「但這是不可能的。」「還是去做吧，」福特命令道：「不管需要多少時間，就是要繼續研究下去，直到你們成功為止。」

花了六個月時間，他們繪畫又再繪圖、設計又再設計，結果什麼也沒完成。再過了六個月，也是一事無成。到了年底，福特與他的汽車設計師們研討狀況，他們再次告訴他，他想要的引擎是不可能製造的。福特告訴他們繼續研究下去。結果他們做到了，他們發現了如何製造V-8引擎。

當我們不放棄時，任何事情都有可能發生。

Two hours, five minutes, and ten seconds: the time it took Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru to finish first in the 26.2-mile (42 km 195 m) London Marathon in April 2009.

Thirteen days: The time it took Major Phil Packer, a British soldier who became a paraplegic following a spinal injury, to complete the same marathon, finishing last out of 36,000 competitors. This feat of perseverance raised over £600,000 (about US$1 million) for charity.

Wanjiru made the headlines for his speed. Packer made headlines not for speed, but for his courage and determination. A thousand-strong crowd gathered to welcome him at the end of a race that he had defied odds to enter, let alone complete. Following his injury a year earlier, he had been told he would never walk again. In fact, he only relearned to walk with crutches a month before the marathon.

While both men are respected for their accomplishments, there was something special about Packer’s triumph. He was never alone during the exhausting and painful six hours it took him to walk two miles each day. Well-wishers—both friends and strangers—accompanied him on the course, walking beside him and cheering him on, from the starting gate to the finishing line. Congratulatory messages on his website include a message of admiration from Prince Charles.

​The road of life is not always easy, and sometimes we face what appear to be impossible obstacles. But we don’t walk it alone. We also have well-wishers—our family and friends—encouraging us along the way. And we too have a Prince supporting us—not one from this realm, but Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who promises to help us rise above circumstances, persist against the odds, and triumph over difficulty: “My grace is sufficient for you,” He tells us, “for My strength is made perfect in [your] weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). So “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2).

​兩小時五分十秒︰這是肯亞選手塞繆爾•瓦尼魯，在2009年4月倫敦26.2英里（42公里195公尺）馬拉松比賽中，首先抵達終點的成績。

十三天︰這是因脊柱受傷而下身麻痺的英國士兵菲爾•帕克少校，完成同一次馬拉松所用的時間。在三萬六千名參賽者中，他最後到達終點。此堅忍不拔的壯舉，為慈善工作籌募了六十多萬英鎊（約一百萬美元）的資金。

瓦尼魯因其速度上了頭條新聞。帕克成為頭條新聞，原因不在其速度，而是他的勇氣和毅力。上千群眾聚集在比賽終點歡迎他，恭賀他排除萬難，參加比賽，甚至跑完了全程。一年前，在他受傷後，醫生斷言，他再也無法走路。事實上，僅在馬拉松比賽前一個月，他才學會靠著拐杖再次行走。

儘管他們兩人都因其成績而受到敬仰，但派克的勝利不同尋常。他每天要用六小時走完痛苦而又令人精疲力竭的兩英里賽程，然而，他從來沒有孤單。祝福者——朋友和陌生人，一起陪伴著他，與他同行，鼓勵他，從起點直到終點。在他網站的賀電中，也包括來自查理斯王子表達欽佩的訊息。

生命的道路並非總是一帆風順，有時我們會面臨似乎無法跨越的障礙。但我們並非單獨行走。我們也有祝福者——我們的家人和朋友們，一路上鼓勵我們。我們也有一位「王子」的支持，祂並不是屬這個世界的王子，祂乃是「和平之君」耶穌。祂承諾會幫助我們超越環境、排除萬難、堅持不懈、戰勝困難。祂告訴我們說：「我的恩典夠你用的，因為我的能力是在人的軟弱上顯得完全。」(哥林多後書12:9)  因此，「讓我們存心忍耐，奔那擺在我們前頭的路程，仰望為我們信心創始成終的耶穌。」(希伯來書12:1-2)