"there has only ever been one perfect man, the Lord Jesus, and we killed him. I only missed a putt."
Prayer and football?
A world champion boxer once said to me: “I sometimes go to church but always the week before a fight”. It is amazing how many sportspeople with no obvious faith will turn to prayer during the heat of a game.When Rev Andrew Wingfield Digby was chaplain to the England cricket team, the Times carried a cartoon of God, an angel and a ringing telephone. God is saying to the angel, “Ignore it. It will be be Wingfield Digby again”. Apparently the phone lines to heaven have been particularly busy during World Cup penalty shoot-outs.
The Bible reveals a God who is interested in all aspects of human life and who invites his followers to “pray without ceasing”. So why not pray about football?
Just before the World Cup, under the heading “Have England got a prayer at the World Cup? Now they have three, Ruth Gledhill reported that the Right Reverend Nick Baines, Bishop of Croydon, had written the following three prayers to help people pray during the World Cup.
A prayer for all those involved
Lord of all the nations, who played the cosmos into being, guide, guard and protect all who work or play in the World Cup. May all find in this competition a source of celebration, an experience of common humanity and a growing attitude of generous sportsmanship to others. Amen
A prayer for the host nation:
God of the nations, who has always called his people to be a blessing for the world, bless all who take part in the World Cup. Smile on South Africa in her hosting, on the nations represented in competition and on those who travel to join in the party. Amen
A prayer for those just not interested:
Lord, as all around are gripped with World Cup fever, bless us with understanding, strengthen us with patience and grant us the gift of sympathy if needed. Amen
The prayers cover the spectrum of the World Cup and hopefully have been answered to a reasonable degree. In the past month I have seen more evidence of smiles on South Africa than of an “attitude of generous sportsmanship”.
Anglican churches in Warwickshire have been encouraged to use the following prayer: “Lord God, the source of all life and joy, recreation and skill, we pray for all involved in the World Cup, and especially for those who represent our nation: for good health for the players, for high standards of sportsmanship and fairness, and for the safety and well-being of all who will watch, that in our shared enjoyment of the game, we may rejoice in the one who came to bring life in all its fullness, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen”.
Diocese spokesman and Tachbrook vicar the Rev Mervyn Roberts said: "The Church of England takes all aspects of life seriously and for that reason has introduced the prayers…. For some of us sport is an important element in the enrichment of life and is therefore a gift we should give thanks for…The prayers we are using focus on sportsmanship, safety and enjoyment rather than on any specific divine plea for victory and there is not one mention of a metatarsal [a reference to Rooney and Beckham’s previous World Cup injuries], so they are general enough for anyone to use, even if you don't support England. Our prayers are designed to support world peace and harmony but anyone adding an extra player asking for divine guidance for our nation's soccer stars wouldn't be excommunicated by us."
They have been praying in South Africa too. South Africa President Jacob Zuma attended a mass prayer meeting on the day before the World Cup to pray for a successful World Cup. Zuma traveled to Sasolburg in the central Free State province for a women’s prayer meet, where he called on people to welcome visitors with open arms. He also told the thousands present they should dedicate prayers to South Africa. In the township church, which I attended in Khayelitsa, the worshippers were encouraged to pray for Ghana - the last remaining African country in the World Cup at that stage.
The Jesuit Institute in Johannesburg (in partnership with the regular Jesuit pray-as-you-go team in the UK) posted on its website a series of meditations introduced with the words “Finding God in the World Cup”. Each meditation features superb singing from the St John Vianney Seminary Choir in Pretoria, a Scripture reading plus penetrating reflections on issues like making the sign of the cross on the pitch. The speaker provocatively suggested that the Apostle Paul would have approved of witness on the pitch more than many modern Christians!
http://www.pray-as-you-go.org/Worldcup2010.htm Philosopher of sport, AJ Kreider has suggested that praying in sport might constitute unsporting behaviour in that one is trying to change the nature of the sporting contest by bringing in an outside agency! Interesting. Prayers for assistance as unsporting behaviour. Kreider, A.J. Journal of the Philosophy of Sport, XXX, 2003, 17-25.
It is difficult to sustain an argument that God decides the outcome of sports events in answer to prayer. What happens if both sides are praying?
Simon Stevenette tells an amusing story of when he was at Wembley as chaplain of Swindon Town in a play-off game. The man behind put his hands on Simon’s shoulders and said “Reverend, Pray!” Simon’s response was to explain that he did not think prayer worked like that but in case he was wrong – he prayed!
When Brazil came from 0-2 down in the final of the Confederations Cup, Lucio, the Brazil captain, saw the hand of God involved.
“It was a very difficult time, but I recognize that it was God, at that moment, who helped us stay calm and even though we were losing 2 – 0, we kept fighting and striving and in the end we were able to turn the match around. Without a doubt, we could never have done this on our own. I think that the faith we had at that time was fundamental, but above all, we recognized the power of God at that moment working in our lives and helping us to victory… For me, in particular, scoring to make it 3 -2 to Brazil was tremendous. I can see how it was a blessing from God in my life to be able to score the winning goal and give the title to Brazil”.
I am comfortable with how Lucio puts it. He said that God helped the players stay calm and that victory was a blessing from God. He stops short of saying that God made them win. Imagine the divine dilemma in that instant as Brazilian evangelical Christian Lucio’s header is heading towards American evangelical Christian Tim Howards’s goal! God has a problem – does he favour Lucio over Howard or vice-versa? Better to see God as helping each one to use the ability they have been given.
One has to ask too if Lucio sees the defeat in the 2010 World Cup as a blessing from God – as he saw the victory. I believe he should. Otherwise we are in danger of espousing a form of “prosperity gospel” – believe in God and you will win.
Overall I suggest that the bishop of Croydon, the churches in Warwickshire and the Jesuits have got in right, believing that it is appropriate to pray about sport but not to see the result linked to answers to prayer.