Have You Prayed For Your Sports Hero Today?

This is maybe my favorite week of the sports year – the NCAA Finals, early season baseball, start of the NHL playoffs, playoff races in the NBA, Derby preps, and of course, The Masters. So, pardon the indulgence, but I had to drop in a sports blog.

Tim Challies, a very insightful blogger (www.challies.com), recently did an interview with Ben Zobrist, a young baseball player with the Tampa Bay Rays. I found this guy to be somewhat unusual for the Christian athletes I’ve seen interviewed. How? Well, when asked about recent books he’s read he named Richard Baxter’s “The Saint’s Everlasting Rest”, and A. W. Pink’s “The Attributes of God” – not exactly Sports Center material. Second is his strong connection to his local church. Even on the road Zobrist has found ways to stay up on sermon series, and maintain fellowship by staying part of a men’s theology class and sending email updates to his pastor and church family. Here are some excerpts from the Q&A:

Do you feel any particular kind of increased responsibility as both a Christian and an athlete?

I do sense an increased responsibility as a Christian athlete in our culture, because our culture exalts performance so much. There are many kids and adults alike who dream of being in our shoes. I believe as a Christian athlete, we are called to use that highly respected platform to deflect any praise to Whom it really belongs and to help people see beyond the glory of a man-made game or ballpark.

How can we pray for Christian athletes? What particular needs or challenges do athletes have that require prayer?

Pray first and foremost against idolatry for us. It is easy to make success in our sport an idol when you want to be excellent. It is easy to set ourselves above others and most grievously above God when people treat you “special”, almost like an idol. Pray for right perspective and constant humility against our prideful flesh. Pray against temptation of all things worldly. And pray for spiritual openness and conversation amongst believers. Athletes tend to have hard outer shells and they think it is weak to share their hearts.

While we don’t want to spiritually idolize an athlete any more than we want to culturally idolize one, it is good and right to rejoice in God’s work among those who might have the least sense of inherent need for Him. Why not pick a favorite athlete and make him a regular focus of prayer?

To read the entire interview with Ben Zobrist here.