“Knowing Christ is the best thing that has ever happened to me, although winning the US Open was a pretty good second.”
Never stop praying
George Burder, in the nineteenth century, believed that no Christian could possibly go to the theatre. His argument was that the idea of praying about the theatre was quite ludicrous. How could you possibly pray, he asked, 'Lord! Go with me to Covent Garden. Bless the actors, strengthen the dancers, assist the musicians, let us have a merry evening, and render the whole performance useful to my religious interest'. (G Burder, Lawful Amusements, 1805, P29)
As Christian sportspeople we believe that we not only can but must pray for the world of sport.
Paul exhorts the Romans to be faithful in prayer (NIV) or never stop praying (CEV) Romans 12:12
But how do we pray for the world of sport.
First of all let us clarify what we should not pray for. We should not pray selfishly, 'Lord, make my team win' or 'Lord, may I score the winning goal'.
Our first prayer should be one of thanks. As people who love sport we can thank God for our bodies, which enable us to be involved in sport. We can thank God for the gifts we can use in our sport
Pray for your own involvement in the sport, that you would be able to play/coach/administer well and to use your skill fully and fairly to the glory of God. Pray that your attitude would be above reproach. While recognizing that the club is important and the team is important, that ultimately you are there with an audience of one in mind
If you are a player, pray for the game for your team captain and the club officials. Pray for the match officials - that the Lord would open their eyes! Pray for a good and fair contest. If you are a coach, administrator or other professional, pray appropriately about your role.
Pray that you would handle success and failure equally well - no pouting if you lose, play badly or are dropped; not proud if you do have a good game but to have the guts to say something like: Thanks but you know as a Christian, I believe that God gave me the gifts I have got and made me able to play like that so I don't deserve the accolades.
Pray that those who meet you would see that you serve God and live your life by his standards.
Pray for your sports friends - generally or for particular ones whom God has placed on your heart with whom you have been able to share your faith.