一位父親的祈禱_麥克阿瑟將軍

A Father's Prayer
by General Douglas MacArthur
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough to know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;

One who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,  And humble, and gentle in victory. Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds;  A son who will know Thee – and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge. Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those that fail. Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men, one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past. And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength. 　　　　　　　
” Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."
(This reflection was written by General MacArthur, during his early days in the Phillipines during the Pacific War, and was left as a spiritual legacy to his son Arthur. Made public after the general's death in 1964.)
　　　　　　　
主呀!
請教導我的兒子在軟弱時能夠堅強不屈，在懼怕時能夠勇敢自持，
在誠實的失敗中毫不氣餒，在光明的勝利中仍能保持謙遜溫和．
請教導我兒子篤實力行而不從事空想，使他認識你
同時也認識他自己，這才是一切知識的開端，
我祈求你不要將他引上逸樂之途，
而將他置於困難及挑戰的磨鍊與剌激之下，
使他學著在風雨中站立起來，
而又由此學著同情那些跌倒的人，
求你讓他有一顆純潔的心，有一個高尚的目標，
在學習指揮別人之前先學會自制，
在邁向未來之時而不遺忘過去，
主呀!
在他有了這些美德之後，我還要祈求你賜給他充份的幽默感，以免他過份嚴肅
賜給他謙虛，才能使他永遠記得
真正的偉大是單純
真正的智慧是坦率
真正的力量是溫和
然後
作為父親的我才敢輕聲地說，
我總算這輩子沒有白活．
上一篇是美國五星上將麥克阿瑟為他兒子的祈禱文,以下是麥克阿瑟將軍的父親,Arthur MacArthur 為他的祈禱文,亞瑟,麥克阿瑟也是一位軍人,他不只造就了一個五星上將,更將信仰傳給孩子,讓他們藉由禱告,度過無數風浪。
親愛的天父，祈求您，讓我成為一個比較好的父親，教導我了解我的孩子，耐心地傾聽他們想說的話，和藹地回答他們的問題，讓我避免打岔或駁斥。幫助我對他們有禮貌，就如同我希望他們對我有禮貌一樣。禁止我嘲笑他們的錯誤，或將他們的言行視為可恥或可笑的。希望我永遠不要因憤怒、怨恨而處罰他們，想藉以顯示我的權威。幫助我，親愛的主！藉由我的言行，讓他們了解誠實的確可以帶來幸福。減少我內心的不善，不要苛求他們有成人的成熟程度和判斷力。讓我不要剝奪他們想要為自己做事或自己做決定的機會。幫助我應許他們合理的要求，同時給我勇氣拒絕可能會對他們造成傷害的特權。主啊！幫助我成為一個公平、正直、和藹的父親。讓我得到他們的愛和尊敬，他們會想要學習我的榜樣。這將是最高的讚美。阿們！