"Football is not a matter of life and death, it is more important than that."
I’ll pray for you! Part 1
How do you pray for people? We all promise to pray for friends. But what do we actually pray? Here is a prayer of Paul’s.I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Ephesians 3:16-19
One writer has commented on this passage that it is noticeable that Paul does not pray for healing, relationships, guidance or protection. We might add that he does not pray for them to win, play well, run faster etc. He prays for spiritual blessings for the Ephesians.
Don’t misunderstand me. I do pray for Christian sportspeople that they will run to their potential, for their relationships, for wisdom in decisions to be made and for healing from injuries.
However this passage challenges me to pray for sportspeople:
that they would be more aware of Christ dwelling in their hearts and lives;
that their faith might be strongly rooted in Christ;
that they may grasp how much God loves them.
If we can take hold of those blessings then the important practical issues like our health, performance and the day to day decisions will more easily fit into place.