GO SPORT
Why prayer is essential for Christian sportspeople
Study 2
Ready
In sport, so many people tell us to be concerned for ourselves. So much of sports culture is about being the best and making a name for yourself.
Yet, when we look at Jesus Christ we see a better way of understanding ourselves and our sport. This change in our understanding starts with prayer.
Set
Read: Matthew 6:9-10
1. Jesus is teaching his disciples how to pray. Who does he teach us to focus on first in verses 9-10?
2. What do they remind us about God?
What you need to know:
The first thing that Jesus requests in his prayer is for God’s name to be ‘hallowed’. God’s name is his character, it is who he is and what he is like. To ‘hallow’ something is a strange word, it literally means to make or treat something as ‘holy’ – that is pure and perfect. So this prayer is about changing our heads and hearts to see God as holy, honoring God as God and having a concern for his name to be lifted up in our sport.
Read: Matthew 6:11
3. How do you feel about praying for ‘normal’ things like food on the table or a roof over your head or even the sport that you love?
4. Do you pray for these things regularly or do you take them for granted?
What you need to know:
God is our provider, and a thankful heart is one of the sure signs that we understand God’s grace. When we don’t feel thankful, we will be enjoying many of God’s good gifts but acting as though he hadn’t given any of it. Being thankful in prayer redirects our hearts towards the Giver of all things.
Read: Matthew 6:12-13
5. Think of the last time someone badly fouled you or think about the last time you committed a bad foul. How did you respond?
6. Why is asking God for forgiveness and forgiving others so important in the Christian life?
What you need to know:
Asking God for forgiveness is not just the way to start the Christian life, but it’s also the way we daily continue the Christian life. If we have been wronged by someone else, remembering that God has forgiven us can help us forgive them. Forgiveness reorientates our hearts away from ourselves to gratitude in Jesus Christ and the forgiveness we receive through his death on the cross.
