True Competitor: A 10-Day Devotional for Athletes, Coaches & ParentsSample

Risky Prayer

WisdomWalks Principle
Prayer unleashes God’s power.

The atmosphere was filled with tension. Players from both teams had been encouraged to protest the game. An outside source was trying to convince players they were being exploited by big-time college sports. Everyone was anticipating a conflict, but what people didn’t expect was some risky prayer, including the 74,000 fans watching!

This 1986 historic football game became one of the greatest between No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 5 Nebraska. Oklahoma’s running back Spencer Tillman and Nebraska’s Stan Parker decided to do the unthinkable. They led several of their teammates to mid-field prior to the opening kickoff. The crowd watched in awe as they knelt down, holding hands at the 50-yard line in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was risky prayer. People wanted them to protest, and they prayed. It wasn’t the statement people were expecting. The act of kneeling was not a prideful statement to impress people; rather a humble act to show people whom they played for.

They had a higher calling—they played for the Audience of One. They prayed the game would be a clean, hard-fought, injury-free contest to honor God Himself. There was no protest other than to say, “We protest everything not wholesome or fair. We protest failure, disrespect, and those ungrateful for moments like this.” They claimed Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” They desired to put God on display. It was risky.

We now see prayer after games all the time. It has almost become tradition. But when is the last time you saw pre-game prayer at the center of the field or court? Players coming together as competitors, not enemies, who desire to help each other play their best? It would be a way of showing everyone that God comes first, not last. How many times have you ended something like an activity, task, project, or game, and said, “Okay, now let’s ask God to bless this”? Instead, we should say, “Before we even start, let’s pray and ask God to be at the center of everything we do.”

Risky prayer is when you start with prayer, not end with prayer. It is praying instead of protesting. Bending a knee, not raising a fist.

That game turned out to be unbelievable. Oklahoma kicked the winning 31-yard field goal at 0:06. The score ended with Oklahoma-20, Nebraska-17. Even though 74,000 fans were challenged by that powerful act of risky prayer, the biggest blessing was for those nine players. Those players tapped into a powerful spiritual principle, “Prayer unleashes God’s power.” It changes us, and it changes the way we look at circumstances. Changing us is even more miraculous than changing the situation.

Be willing to engage in risky prayer. Those prayers will change you, your team, and spread far beyond. When you pray such a prayer, God is bound to show up. He loves risky prayer.

WisdomWalks SPORTS, Ellie Claire (Nashville, TN), pages 115-118.