Prayer

Oswald Chambers said in is devotional, My Utmost for His Highest, “Prayer is not preparation for the work of God; it is the work of God.” I have found no other spiritual discipline to be of greater value in ministry with people than prayer. Even the most secularized person, with whom I may be speaking, if I ask him/her if we can pray together, will agree. Prayer can be a most powerful tool for both your ministry of solitude and intercession for the players and coaches and for direct ministry with them as you are together.

· Pray for favor with the leaders of your sport. The coaching staff and the other leaders in your sport will determine in large part the access you will have with the rest of the coaches and the competitors of their team. If they see you favorably, you’re in. If they don’t, you have a much more difficult assignment. I often pray for favor with such leaders and trust the Lord to provide it. (See Proverbs 21:1.)

· Prayer through the Team Roster or Batting Order - Acquire a team roster and pray for your team. That roster could come from a game program or a team media guide. However you get it, take full advantage of it and pray for each team member by name. Take note of other information like hometown and family background that is often in a media guide.
o You can pray through the roster or the batting order on game day in intercession for each of the competitors and the coaching staff.
o You can pray for those on the team when you visit practice sessions. This is a great opportunity to work on memorizing uniform numbers and names as well as praying for them.