Friday, January 9, 2015

Prayer approaching a session of injury rehab

Father,

As I prepare for another session of injury rehab, I confess my weariness with the process.

This is painful, tedious, and the reward for the work feels very distant to me.

Please fuel my heart with perseverance.

Please renew my mind with vision for the future.

Please refresh my soul with joy.

Please restore my body with strength, flexibility, and resilience.

I commit myself, body, mind, and spirit to You and to this process.

I am trusting and praying in Jesus' name,

Amen.

Prayer for dealing with weariness


Merciful Father,

I am tired.

My body is worn out and my mind is numb with fatigue.

My emotions are flat and my soul has dried up.

This weariness would leave my heart to languish in despair.

But You are my strength and my limitless source of hope.

My life in (sport) demands that I perform well, even when I am assaulted by fatigue.

I rest my soul in Your infinite strength, grace, and power. 

Please refresh my body with energy.

Please infuse my emotions with passion.

Please restore my mind with Your truth.

Please lead me to compete again with a full heart, a clear mind, and a powerful body.

I trust in Your provision and pray in Jesus’ strong name, 

Amen. 

Prayer for dealing with pain


Merciful, Heavenly Father,

This pain is draining the very life from me.

I long for it to stop and for health to return.

This assault on my body is creeping into my soul.

It robs me of energy and it strains my relationships.

As the Lord Jesus trusted You while enduring His life of pain, so will I trust You.

As He turned to You for compassion and presence, so I turn my heart to You.

Lord, please release me from this pain or enable me to endure it with Christ-honoring perseverance and grace.

I trust and commit my painful life into Your hands. 

In Jesus’ compassionate name I pray,

Amen. 

Prayer for when you want to quit


Merciful Father,

I confess that I would like to give up, to quit, and to withdraw from (sport).

This process seems to be squeezing the life out of me and it assaults my will to continue.

The rewards of (sport) have disappeared from my sight and the joy of competition eludes me.

I need You to restore my passion for competition, to refresh my soul’s love of (sport), and to renew my body’s strength.

I commit my heart to Your perseverance.

I commit my will to Your sovereign plan. 

I commit my body to Your compassionate care.

I commit my life to Your divine purposes. 

I will press on and will continually pray in Jesus' powerful name, 

Amen. 

Prayer prior to competition with a lowly rated opponent

Father,

All those around us see today's opponent as vastly inferior. 

No one gives them a chance to compete with us. 

Please guard our hearts from such arrogance. 

Hold us back from such folly. 

Lead us to show dignity, honor, and respect to our opponents.

Help us to love this competitive neighbor as we love our-competitive-selves.

We commit this day and ourselves to honoring You. 

We pay in Jesus' strong name,

Amen.

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Prayer prior to competition with a superior opponent

Father,

By all accounts this is a competition we should not win.

No one gives us a chance against what appears to be a superior opponent. 

My soul is undeterred.

My heart is not intimidated.

My mind is not defeated.

My body is not broken.

Please infuse all of my person to compete fearlessly, powerfully, and wisely.

I commit this contest and every moment of today's competition as a sacrifice to honor You. 

Win or lose, I am Your competitor.

I pray, lead, and compete in Jesus' powerful name, 

Amen.

Prayer during competition with a dishonorable opponent

Father in Heaven,

My opponent is violating every value I hold dear in this sport. 


His/her approach to (sport) lacks integrity.


This is stretching my discipline to its limits. 


Please rule my heart with Your peace. 


Lead me to compete with honor.


Please season my speech with grace.


Help me to guard and protect my teammates and the ethical standards that honor You. 


I compete and persevere in Jesus' strong name,

 Amen.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

Prayer for the Emergency Room

Gracious Father,


This moment of crisis has our minds racing and our souls in a knot.


This situation screams for us to panic, but You speak peace to our hearts.


While this tornado of unanswered questions spins around us, please calm our minds.


In this atmosphere of doubt and despair, infuse our souls with hope.


We trust You in this darkness and walk boldly ahead.


Please grant wisdom to all Your agents of healing and comfort.


We commit ourselves, this whole process, and the eventual results into Your loving and powerful hands.


We are praying and trusting in Jesus',


Amen.

Monday, January 5, 2015

Prayer for dealing with teammates' failure and defeat

Forgiving Father of all,

This day's loss and the failure of my teammate(s) tear at the fabric of my soul.


My heart wants to forgive and to restore them, but my mind is critical and my soul is grieved.


I confess this conflict and beg You to unite my life in Your grace.


Lead me to wise ways and gracious words to forgive and to restore them.


I am committed to loving You as I love my failing teammate(s).


I pray and extend the forgiveness I received from Jesus,


Amen.

Prayer when feeling lonely

Lord Jesus,

I feel cut off. I feel terribly alone.


My family, friends, and teammates seem to be continents away from me.


These feelings are crushing my spirit and draining my soul.


Please visit me with Your comforting presence. 


I trust You for soul-restoring communion.


I trust You to lead me to life-giving community.


My lonely spirit takes refuge in the shadow of Your wings.


I pray in the name of Jesus, my compassionate Counselor,


Amen.

Sunday, January 4, 2015

Prayer for maintaining humility

Almighty Father, 

All those surrounding us are singing our praises.

All our detractors have faded away.

We are applauded from every side.

I confess my heart's desire to believe such flattery.

It seduces my flesh and deceives my mind.

It intoxicates my soul.

Hold me back from the folly of man's empty praise.

Focus my heart on pleasing You. 

Turn my attention to the sobering Truth of Your Word.

Please enrich my heart with humility and wisdom.

I pray and trust in Jesus' name,

Amen.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Prayer After Winning a Championship

Heavenly Father,

We are champions and this must be a foretaste of what heaven feels like.

Everything about (sport) seems better today than it ever has.


The tastes are sweeter, the aromas are richer, the sensations are more powerful, and the sights are glorious.

Thank You for this marvelous opportunity to compete and to achieve.

Thank You for wise coaches and skillful teammates.

Thank You for my life in (sport) and all it has accomplished in me.

Please lead my heart to celebrate wisely.

Help me to treat my opponents with dignity and respect.

Guard my heart from the folly of building my identity on this performance.

With an excited spirit and a humble mind I pray in Jesus' strong name,

Amen. 

Friday, January 2, 2015

Prayer after post-season tournament elimination

Father in Heaven,

Tournament elimination feels like death.

It grieves my soul and pains my mind.

My body is sore and my heart is numb.

The season is suddenly over and our dreams of a championship are dashed.

Thank you for the rich opportunities we were afforded this year.

Thank you for my teammates coaches, and worthy opponents.

Thank you for the wonderful memories I have gathered in (sport).

I commit this season, its wins and losses, its highlights and its failures, its joy and its pain to Your loving hand.

With thanksgiving and resolve, in Jesus' name I pray,


Amen.

Prayer prior to competition with a superior opponent

Father,

By all accounts this is a competition we should not win.

No one gives us a chance against what appears to be a superior opponent. 

My soul is undeterred.

My heart is not intimidated.

My mind is not defeated.

My body is not broken.

Please infuse all of my person to compete fearlessly, powerfully, and wisely.

I commit this contest and every moment of today's competition as a sacrifice to honor You. 

Win or lose, I am Your competitor.

I pray, lead, and compete in Jesus' powerful name, 

Amen. 

Thursday, January 1, 2015

Prayer after a victory over a worthy and honorable opponent

Glorious Father in Heaven,

This seems to be the very height of (sport).

We competed well and honorably.

We demonstrated excellent skill, character, and sportmanship.

We competed against a worthy and honorable opponent.  

And we won!

We are thankful for all these blessings and commit them to You as an offering of praise.

We pray that You were as honored in this competition as we were fulfilled and exhilarated in it.

We pray in exultation of this day's worship of Christ Jesus in (sport),

Amen.