Game Day Prayer

Today’s note is an excerpt from an article in the April 2008 edition of Fellowship of Christian Athlete’s Sharing the Victory magazine. If you would like a copy of the complete article, please reply to this email and I’ll send you a copy as a Word file.

“O Lord, Please Help Us Win Today.”

How many times have you uttered that prayer, either under your breath or out loud? How often have we asked the Lord Jesus to intervene in the course of human history so we could get a win and not a loss?
Does the Lord care at all about who wins and who loses in any given sport contest? If not, why should we pray at all prior to competition?
In the fourteen years I’ve served as a sport chaplain and sport mentor, I have seen a number of different approaches to game day prayer. I’ve seen players and coaches treat the chaplain like a good luck charm, thinking, “If that guy prays for me, God will bless me and I’ll play greatly.” I’ve seen teams treat their pre-game recitation of The Lord’s Prayer like the rubbing of a lucky rabbit’s foot. I’ve looked players in the eye and known they were bargaining with the Lord. I could hear their hearts saying, “Lord if you will give us this championship, I will give you the glory as I talk with the media, sign endorsement deals, get a new car, get a date with that beautiful girl and more, ad nauseum.” I have also seen my own approach to game day prayer change over these years. My prayers for coaches, players, game officials, and even our opponents have undergone a good deal of transformation over time as I have learned to hear the Lord’s heart toward sport and toward those engaged in it.
Let’s think through what might be some matters for prayer which we can be sure are items of interest to the Lord Jesus.
· Pray that each one in the contest competes honorably.
· Pray for matters of the heart related to competition.
· Pray for the Lord’s purposes to be accomplished in your subjects.
· Pray for all those involved in the competition.
· Pray that those who compete, experience the Lord’s pleasure and presence in the competition.
Simply said, I do not think the Lord cares at all about who wins and who loses any particular sport contest. I do believe He cares infinitely about how we compete in pursuit of the win. Our character, which will certainly be revealed by competition, is always His concern. I truly believe that a Christ-honoring competition which results in a loss is ultimately more satisfying than any dishonorable win with all its accompanying guilt and shame. Let’s commit ourselves to prayer and to honoring Christ in competition and leave the scoreboard results to those who compete.