Prayer-A Team Sport?
OCTOBER 28, 2015
Greg Tonagel has been the head coach at IWU for 10 years, amassing a 268-78 career record and has been named Crossroads League Coach of the Year six times and NAIA National Coach of the Year in 2014. You can listen to him talk about 'IAm3' here.
Years ago I read an article in the Huffington post titled, Prayer is Not a Team Sport. The author argued that prayer doesn't have a place in modern team sports. I couldn't disagree more. It's not that I think prayers are only for last second heaves or miracle comebacks but instead, prayers are for transforming lives—and I believe that coaches are in the business of transforming lives.
Prayer has become a big part of our program. We pray because we don't have all the answers. We pray because in a sports-crazed culture it's easy to lose perspective. We pray because our players have bigger needs than an improved jump-shot. We pray because we don't know how to lead these young men to become the next generation of godly leaders—but we serve a God who does.
Let me share with you 3 simple things we pray over our team. They’re more important to us than success, standings or fame. We’re not praying for more victories on the court, these are just our dreams for God to make these boys into great men off the court.
1. Lord, give them weakness today.
Give (player’s name) just enough weakness today so that he doesn’t rely upon his own strength but instead experiences your power (2 Cor 12:9).
2. Lord, give them a desire to be “third” today.
Teach (player’s name) that if he wants to be first, he first needs to find a way to be third. Shift his focus from himself and onto you. Free him from the tyranny of self-interest so he can use his gifts and abilities to help those around him succeed (Matthew 22:37-40).
3. Lord, give them a fearless mindset.
Help (player’s name) learn to love God and others perfectly, and to turn his focus away from the circumstances that motivate his fear and onto a belief in something greater than his circumstance. May he play and live in freedom (I John 4:18)!
Praying these things has changed our entire program. This week, start off your day by adding these verses to your prayer time. Maybe even try starting a coaches meeting off with prayer. Who knows, God may transform your players and better yet, he may even transform you!