Before every game, I pray with my athletes. I first thank God for the blessings he has given us, then I pray that we all play hard, play smart, and play together. I also pray that we have clear minds, pure hearts, and healthy bodies and that we play stress and worry-free.
I believe that there is power in prayer because there are so many verses that say so.
In Philippians 4:6 it says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
Jesus in Luke 11:9 says, “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
He says in Mark 11:24 says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
We don’t have to worry or be anxious about anything if we believe in God, if we ask Him to be there for us, and if we believe that what we ask for will be ours.
But how do we pray?
In Mathew 6 during his Sermon on the Mount teaching, Jesus said:
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him."
He then says, “This, then, is how you should pray:
Our Father who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. [For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever.]
We don’t have to recite this prayer exactly, but it teaches us how to pray:
1 - We acknowledge that God is our Father in heaven and deserves our praise, love, and respect.
2 - We are calling on God to bring His kingdom into our life so that we can live with love, joy, and peace.
3 - We pray that God’s will be done in our lives and in our world. This puts God first.
4 - Ask Him for what you need today.
5 - Ask Him to forgive you for your sins, but we also have to forgive those who have done us wrong.
6 - Ask Him to keep us away from temptation and to deliver us from the evil things in our lives and this world.
The beauty of prayer is that we don’t have to pray perfectly. We don’t even need to know what we are doing. We just have to take the time to quiet our minds, talk to God about what is on our hearts, ask Him for what it is we want, and then spend as much quiet time as possible listening to Him and for Him.
THIS WEEK
1 - Create a habit of prayer. Pray every morning, every day in the middle of the day, and every night.
2 - When you pray, listen for God’s words and guidance.
3 - Share this message with one other person so they can began creating their own prayer habits.
Click here for a Google doc version of this devo:
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