阅读经文 

祷告对基督徒的生活太重要了，圣经的结尾就是以一个简短的祷告来结束：“阿们！主耶稣啊，我愿祢来！”

“主啊，我愿祢来”这句话可能来自早期基督徒所使用的亚兰语：“玛拉纳塔！”例如，使徒保罗也使用了这个亚兰短语来结束他写给哥林多教会的第一封信。（参林前 16:22）

保罗写信给说希腊语的哥林多教会，为什么偏偏要用亚兰文呢？是这样，亚兰文其实是耶稣和祂的门徒生活的地区的通用语言。

有些人认为“玛拉”是人们用来表达渴望弥赛亚到来的词。加上“纳塔”，保罗以此呼应了他那个时代基督徒的忏悔。这句话指向基督，意思是：“我们的主已来到。”

在保罗的时代，基督徒们显然用“玛拉纳塔”来互相问候，表示他们身处一个敌意的世界。他们用类似启示录结尾的话作为每日重复的短祷，“玛拉纳塔，主啊，我愿祢来。”

值得注意的是，在圣经结尾处，在发出耶稣第二次再临的祈求之前，耶稣已经亲自发出应许：“是了，我必快来。” 还有比这更大更明确的应许吗？

在我们渴望神的国来临并为之努力时，愿我们的祷告常常包含圣经结尾留下的这些话：“阿们！主耶稣啊，我愿祢来！”

Prayer is so essential to the Christian life that the Bible closes with a short prayer: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus."

The words "Come, Lord" probably draw from an Aramaic expression used by early Christians: "Maranatha!" For example, the apostle Paul used this Aramaic phrase as he closed his first letter to the church in Corinth (see 1 Corinthians 16:22).

Why would Paul use an Aramaic phrase while writing to a Greek-speaking church? Well, Aramaic was the common, local language spoken in the region where Jesus and his disciples lived. Some have suggested that maran was a word the people used to voice their longing for the Messiah to come. And by adding atha, they say, Paul echoed a confession of the early Christians in his day. Pointing to Christ, those words mean, "Our Lord has come."

In Paul's day, Christians apparently also used maranatha as a mutual greeting, identifying themselves in a world that was hostile to them. They also used similar words as a short prayer repeated throughout the day, Marana tha, "Come, O Lord."

Significantly, at the close of the Bible, this prayer for Jesus' second coming is preceded by a promise from Jesus himself: "Yes, I am coming soon." Can there be any greater assurance?

As we work and long for the coming of God's kingdom, may our prayers often include these words from the closing lines of Scripture: "Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!"