Prayer and sports games

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adamjthompson

Puritan Board Freshman
How should we view prayer as it relates to sports games? Let's say I'm participating in a professional sports game.

Every option I've thought of or heard seems objectionable to me:

Option 1) Pray my team wins. By extension, I'm praying that the other team loses. Seems wrong to ask God to help me by making them lose.

Option 2) Say God doesn't concern himself with who wins. This would seem to be adding an extra-biblical teaching simply to get out of the above issue. Plus, if I'm a professional athlete, who wins or loses can have financial and other consequences.

Option 3) Say if we're godly we won't pray about who wins, but we'll pray that God is glorified in all things. (This would also include similar options like praying that we are edified by the game, etc.) While I'm sure that's true on one level, on another level it seems to be a cop-out. We'd never tell an unemployed person that they shouldn't pray that they get a particular job (even if that means some other person doesn't get the job)

The problems related to this issue seem to stem from three areas: the overall triviality of sports, the moral neutrality of each side (it isn't good vs evil, like wars often are), and the fact that me winning means another loses.

How should we view prayer as it relates to sports? (Professional or otherwise.)
 
Is professional sports a lawful calling, is a better question. Answer that, and you will find your query satisfied. :)
 
Is professional sports a lawful calling, is a better question. Answer that, and you will find your query satisfied. :)

I'd be interested to hear more of where you are going with this Pastor Lewis. I'm inclined to see problems with certain professionals in sports (after one professor's description of professional hockey, it seemed heavy with sixth commandment violations) or problems with when sports are played (e.g., on the Lord's Day), but I suppose there could lawfully be someone paid to play a sport, that is, a professional athlete.

In addition, not all sport teams are composed of professionals that one could pray for, such as college teams or Olympic national teams.
 
When we played football at bible college, we never prayed we would win but always prayed that we would play in a way that honours the Lord, that we would be gracious in defeat and magnanimous in victory
 
I recall the "bad old days" when prayers were offered before local sporting events and they were usually along the lines of no-one being injured, everyone playing his best, etc. As to winning, I guess the reformed answer would be that the winner has been ordained for God's own glory. (Slightly tongue in cheek been not entirely.)
 
Is professional sports a lawful calling, is a better question. Answer that, and you will find your query satisfied. :)

I'd be interested to hear more of where you are going with this Pastor Lewis. I'm inclined to see problems with certain professionals in sports (after one professor's description of professional hockey, it seemed heavy with sixth commandment violations) or problems with when sports are played (e.g., on the Lord's Day), but I suppose there could lawfully be someone paid to play a sport, that is, a professional athlete.

In addition, not all sport teams are composed of professionals that one could pray for, such as college teams or Olympic national teams.

Jake,

For my part, I understand professional sports to be a contradiction of words. Sports, meaning to "amuse oneself", and professional, "one's chief occupation", don't seem to fit together. When a pro athlete says in an interview, "I love this game, I cant believe i get paid to do this", he is expressing a base truism. There is a reason he thinks this way. :) Now as recreation, for times of bodily refreshment and pleasure sports can and should be enjoyed if one so pleases. But to make a profession out of playing seems to do nothing more than elongate the mindset of adolescence into adulthood. I am reminded of Paul's words, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." Professional sports, as I see it, adds no meaningful element to society, except in derivative employment (hot dog guy, janitor, etc). Further, we could get by very easily without professional sports, and still enjoy the sport. I found Calvin and Matthew Henry of interest on this subject.

Zechariah 8:5, “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” Matthew Henry notes: “That childish youthful sports shall be confined to the age of childhood and youth. It is pleasing to see the boys and girls playing in the streets, but it is ill-favoured to see men and women playing there, who should fill up their time with work and business. It is well enough for children to be sitting in the market-place, crossing questions (Mt. 11:16, 17), but it is no way fit that men, who are able to work in the vineyard, should stand all the day idle there, Mt. 20:3.”

John Calvin noted: “It is not needful here anxiously to raise the questions Whether it is lawful to play during times of peace? for the Prophet here took his language from the common habits of men, and even from the very nature of things; for we know that men give way to cheerfulness when no fear lays hold on their minds, and that play and sport are allowed to children.”

We have drifted far from our Puritan and Reformed roots on the subject of sports (and entertainment in general). I find it sad, to say the least, when popular [r]reformed men extol their favorite sports team or athlete from behind the pulpit or lectern. It perpetuates the error, and gives the hearer an excuse to continue in this enormous time waster.

Further, here in the USA, it promotes idolatry of men, teams, stats, and trophies, and flagrantly violates the Sabbath. On those grounds alone, I would argue it is unlawful. I use to be a big hockey and football fan myself. But as I get older, sports on the whole has lost its luster. I'd much rather spend my time with my wife and kids, visiting with good friends, reading a good book, or leisurely walk a mountain stream hunting for wild Brook trout with my fly rod. :)

Just my two cents! I've never spoken on this bore now.

blessings,
 
Flying fishing is a religion, so says one of my favorite books :)

It's hard to be thrilled with the modern sports culture. I used to be a huge hockey (anyone else remember the Atlanta Flames?) and baseball fan, but now follow little more than college football. And I haven't encouraged much in the way of sports for my kids because we would immediately be set at odds with our culture. Sad, because there really can be some good in athletics. At least they're learning to love the outdoors and the Lord's day.
 
Flying fishing is a religion, so says one of my favorite books :)

I have that book, and if it is not a religion, it is certainly ethereal. :)

I became a Calgary Flames fan the first year they moved from Atlanta. I even played a bit with their team as a kid in pickup hockey. Some of them lived on the same street as my cousin (Willi Plett was one of them).
 
It leaves me scratching my head when you see a fighter who has won a fight and knocked the opponent senseless to win, then says when interviewed in the ring after the fight "I owe this all to God and my Saviour Jesus Christ" :scratch:
Ill admit though that I do like watching a good game of Aussie rules footy. No guys wearing sissy padding either ;)
 
Yes, I don't think ALL sports are valid. I just say they are valid, as entertainment, as long as no obvious intended sinning is going on. To enjoy watching soccer (what our European friends call football), to enjoy playing it, etc., for example, is not in and of itself a sin in my opinion. It COULD be, depending upon how you are doing it, but then again anything COULD be (fly fishing, running a bakery, needlepoint, whatever, anything can be done sinfully).
 
Zechariah 8:5, “And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof.” Matthew Henry notes: “That childish youthful sports shall be confined to the age of childhood and youth. It is pleasing to see the boys and girls playing in the streets, but it is ill-favoured to see men and women playing there, who should fill up their time with work and business. It is well enough for children to be sitting in the market-place, crossing questions (Mt. 11:16, 17), but it is no way fit that men, who are able to work in the vineyard, should stand all the day idle there, Mt. 20:3.”

Sounds to me like Henry strayed way deep into legalism there. Suggesting that verse forbids grow-ups from playing in the street stretches the actual words of the verse past the breaking point, in my opinion. I, for one, am thankful to be in a church that doesn't hold such a dim view of recreation. :)
 
Most of the replies haven't really even engaged with my question.

If it's easier, remove the professional sports from the equation. Is it wrong for a Little League or high school team to pray to win their game? How do we work that out?
 
It leaves me scratching my head when you see a fighter who has won a fight and knocked the opponent senseless to win, then says when interviewed in the ring after the fight "I owe this all to God and my Saviour Jesus Christ" :scratch:

That's the type of thing that leaves me puzzled. Or, for example...an olympic athlete says something like that. I'm like...what are you saying, that God likes you better than the other guys and decreed you win and them lose? Yet if we believe in the 100% sovereignty of God...?
 
Yes, I don't think ALL sports are valid. I just say they are valid, as entertainment, as long as no obvious intended sinning is going on.

I agree. To say that pursuing things which are recreation/sports/entertainment as a career is wrong gets you into all sorts of legalistic rules. By extension, you would be forbidding musical performers, artists, designers, comedians, dancers, fly fishing instructors, dive guides, fishing TV show personalities, etc, etc.
 
To the OP, it's hard to put God on one side or another in an athletic competition -- we really only can pray according to His word which would be for the safety of the players, all participants' behavior, and the general furtherance of his will and glory.

I do think you can see a correlation -- not causation -- between the rise of 24-7 sports and the increase in secularization in western culture. Left with an empty soul, man will look for something to exalt. In some ways, sports might be a healthier choice than others. For what it's worth, I initially set out to be a sports writer, but quickly abandoned the plan after coming to Christ -- I just couldn't see spending my life writing about grown men playing little boys' games.
 
Adam, I think the question in your OP is a good one. It actually applies to many endeavors beyond sports, including some we might think more noble. When I was in the business world, there were many cases where my success in business necessarily came at the expense of the business or institution down the street. There is a limited number of customers or clients to attract, and we can't all win those customers. Even now as a writer, for my Sunday school materials to sell probably means that some church is not purchasing someone else's materials. So am I not to pray for sales and customers out of concern for my "neighbor business?"

I think I may and should pray for business success, but I need to be wary of a too-competitive spirit.

My situation in Christian publishing doesn't quite equate to sports because in publishing I can work hard to make my product inherently better so that it deserves to sell. But even in that endeavor, I need to avoid selfish praying. I ought to be just as happy when someone else writes truly excellent lessons and they sell well as I am when it happens to me. And because sports are inherently even more competitive than publishing, and the merits of one sports team over another far less significant that the merits of one Bible lesson over another, I would think that if you were an athlete you need to be especially careful. This is why I say it was good for you to ask the question.

From your posts, it sounds like you're already convinced that praying for wins is selfish. If that's the case, don't do it. Yet, understandably, as an athlete you would want to win and as a trusting child of your Father you would want to share those desires with him and depend on him for all things. I wonder if you should simply be honest with God about how you feel, but also pray for things that you know are good to pray for—like more love for others. That sort of prayer, offered daily, tends to clarify things in any line of work.
 
Some analogies: Can you pray to get a particular job? Because if you get it, someone else doesn't.

Can you pray to win a particular wife? Because if you get her, someone else doesn't.

Can you pray to have your offer accepted on a house? Because if your offer is accepted, someone else's isn't.

Can you pray for a promotion? Because if you are promoted, someone else is not.

I'd say yes, as long as the prayer is offered in the spirit of "Thy will be done," acknowledging that God's will may in fact differ from yours.

Thus I'd say there is nothing intrinsically wrong with praying to win, in a game or any of the above situations. Of course there are many attitude sins to be avoided while praying, though.
 
To me Adam praying to win is weird. Because your in effect praying for the other to loose. If I had to or felt compelled somehow to pray before a match or game I think I would pray for the wellbeing of all concerned. Nothing more. For jobs and other things I let the cards fall as they may, so to speak, and leave it at that.
 
In response to the OP, it seems that sport is among the all things described in Philippians 4:6: "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." While fans of two opposing teams will pray for their team, I always try to remember to pray for God's will in the matter. God is sovereign and the details of life (even sport details) are important if only because of the role they play in the lives of believers.

Certainly a sport can take on the characteristics of an idol. I know when my favorite team loses, I sometimes experience a mood change that's not glorifying to God (or much fun). I try not to get so wrapped up in the team winning so it won't bother me. We dropped our cable TV a couple of years ago, and now that I can rarely see the team on TV it's helped keep things in balance. Not reading the sport blogs too much helps keep things in better perspective. But I do remember when my football team won the National Championship that I jumped around like a kid thanking God for the win. It's still a precious and joyful memory even though it was over twelve years ago.
 
I like winning. Especially when the prize is a nice prize. I do think God is concerned about who wins. He even has our hairs numbered and a sparrow can not light upon the ground without him knowing it. I do pray sometimes for selfish reasons. I also pray for God to get praise and recognition by both the loser and the winner. It is a gift to be able to contribute and work out our talents. I almost lost my left leg in a motorcycle accident in 1985. I was running 3 miles a day, playing softball, soccer, racket ball, and golf. That all came to end. I am fortunate to have a leg at all. I think that God is more concerned with our attitude and how we strive to play or work lawfully. At the same time I do appreciate the prize and the prosperity that the prize might bring. So I pray sometimes that God would give me a quickened and wise mind to perform. But it must be a lawful endeavor which is something a lot of our Society does not have any longer as violators of the Sabbath. And I have been guilty of that.
 
For my part, I understand professional sports to be a contradiction of words. Sports, meaning to "amuse oneself", and professional, "one's chief occupation", don't seem to fit together. When a pro athlete says in an interview, "I love this game, I cant believe i get paid to do this", he is expressing a base truism. There is a reason he thinks this way. :) Now as recreation, for times of bodily refreshment and pleasure sports can and should be enjoyed if one so pleases. But to make a profession out of playing seems to do nothing more than elongate the mindset of adolescence into adulthood. I am reminded of Paul's words, "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things." Professional sports, as I see it, adds no meaningful element to society, except in derivative employment (hot dog guy, janitor, etc). Further, we could get by very easily without professional sports, and still enjoy the sport. I found Calvin and Matthew Henry of interest on this subject.

Amen!

*Speaking as one who hates, loathes, and in all other ways detests professional sports of any kind.*
 
In my humble opinion, the question is really (assuming that you activity, any activity, has at least the potential of being God-gloryifying) what would be most glorifying to God in the contest in question? At least one aspect of any such activity, especially sport, is excellence - a mastery of the disciplines at hand.

As such, I for one would be much more comfortable praying to play (as a team as well as an individual) as well as humanly possible, but I wouldn't be inclined to pray for victory. The "rightness" of your cause is no more than the rightness of your opponent's cause (all other things being equal), despite the fervency of anyone's fandom. I would suggest that the final outcome of a sporting event, professional or otherwise, is vasty subordinate to the conduct of the participants, both in terms of skill and integrity.
 
I don't know that playing professionally necessitates amusing oneself, although that is the common trend of it.

(1 Corinthians 9:25) And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

I don't think the Apostle aims to recommend mastery for temporal crowns, but he does seem to make an argument from the lesser to the greater, and the lesser, not being bad, but, in some wise, good. Moreover, the mastery to which he refers seems to be beyond that of a child's.

To "play" professionally is difficult because of the connotation, and that for good reason, because of the trend of it, to which I've referred, but really, and truly, if one is to serve, in order to entertain others, so that their work is our pleasure, as so often our work is another's - think even of the chef - this is not something to be aimed against, much the rather encouraged.

Making a show of one's abilities by beating of the chest and yelling, prancing and so forth is thus unbecoming deportment, but I have seen a few, even in these days, who I have seen play sports, and that professionally, with a due shamefacedness, which is fitting for a servant pleasing his master, and in this case, through entertainment. It is rare to find any employee, who considers himself your servant, much the less when he makes more money than most of his masters, individually speaking. But collectively, are we not all, the viewing public, the superiors of those whom we watch, on the television, or live, on our sofa, or under the clouds?

Nevertheless, I don't know that it can be easily done, but I do find in every profession, that people aim to please themselves, and not to serve. Have you ever been asked if you're "passionate" about what you do. I don't intend to deprecate enjoying one's portion and the prize thereof, but I think what is found as folly in professional sports in found more and more on the rise in all areas, even of business. Consider Google's campus, I don't know much about it, but I gather it's to take the toil out of toil. But that toil is for our good, or else God would not have prescribed it to man, from his fall into sin Gen. 3:17-19. etc.
 
But collectively, are we not all, the viewing public, the superiors of those whom we watch
I don't intend to suggest that they may not be superiors in other civil relations, such as in age, or wealth, wisdom, and so forth, but in that particular relation, which is being executed or carried out in that endeavor of watching, and for him, or her I suppose, playing " ".

And to the OP, if the sports team is an organization, carrying out business, I don't see it as much different than a corporation of another sort praying for their increase of estate, remembering that teams generally make more money the more successful they are. There is error on both sides against which to be watchful.

LC
Q. 141. What are the duties required in the eighth commandment?

...an endeavor, by all just and lawful means, to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others, as well as our own.

SC
Q. 80. What is required in the tenth commandment?
...a right and charitable frame of spirit toward our neighbor, and all that is his.
 
It's easy to take this too far. Watching sports in itself is entertainment. While they are playing a game they are also providing us with entertainment. If it's wrong to play sports, wouldn't it be wrong to watch them? If it's childish to play or watch sports, can we not play a game of cards, or a game of chess? I don't think there is anything wrong with enjoying your job either. It's easy to go too far.

As for what to pray for, to be honest it seemed to me to be selfish to pray to win. Then I read some great comments on this thread. It's more about the spirit of your prayer. You may pray to win, you may pray for personal advancement, but never do so in an attitude that would rather you advance than God.
 
I cant help but think that if like in Mathew 6 v 25 we are not to even worry about what we shall drink, eat or wear, things that may be necessary in life, why we would bother praying about something trivial like if we win a simple game and come before the Lord to request to do so!
 
Option 3 seems to be the most biblical of the three. I would pray that God would be glorified either by you winning or you losing. Kind of like life; let Christ be magnified either by my life or by my death.
 
"I cant help but think that if like in Mathew 6 v 25 we are not to even worry about what we shall drink, eat or wear, things that may be necessary in life, why we would bother praying about something trivial like if we win a simple game and come before the Lord to request to do so! "

Yet we are told to pray for what we eat. Aren't we supposed to cast all of our cares upon Him? I'm not sure a game of sport would usually be considered a "worry," yet if you have a concern about it, how can prayer be forbidden?

I'd hate for us to have some sort of list of "things serious enough to prayer for" and "things too trivial to pray for."
 
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