How do we Pray for Professional Athletes?

The last couple weeks that I've been watching my San Francisco 49ers go through the playoffs, I've come to a point where I think to myself, "I'm going to pray for them."  And then, I hit the proverbial wall.  What am I going to pray for? That they win?  Though God knows who is going to win, what help is it to anyone anywhere if I pray for something so selfish and seemingly stupid?

I'd been wrestling with how professional athletes walk in faith and how they can be a witness on the field.  I've kind of come to the conclusion that while they're doing their job on the field, not much other than a prayer for protection from injury would seem rather vane.  Ultimately though, if athletes are believers, the true testing of their faith, when it comes to their job, is when they walk off the field.  Or, in some cases, when they are carried, carted, or walked off the field.

When an athlete fails in his position, he can despair.  Even more so if he or she feels like the team lost because of their failure.  If an athlete does well, but feels like they're looked over because other people seemed to have performed that much better, that may plant a seed of bitterness or resentment in their heart.  If an athlete suffers an injury that ends their season, or worse, their career, they may feel great loss and despair.  If an athlete does well in their position, they could possibly become prideful.  Again, even more so if their team wins and the win can in any way be attributed to their performance. 

All of these things are struggles that we as people face, but professional athletes so much more because of how people idolize them and the pressure placed on them by their families, their teammates and the coaching staff/management.  The pressure of expectation of performance, the allure of celebrity, and yes, even a professional athlete's desire to be recognized and appreciated, can all lead to sin.  And this is how we can pray for them.

We can pray that God would console them when they are injured, regardless of whether or not they will be able to play any more.  That He would show them that He is the true comforter of their hearts.  We can pray that when they fail, that they not feel despair at their own failure, but feel loved and more than conquerors, regardless of the email or tweets they receive saying otherwise.  We can pray that the Lord give them humble hearts so that celebrity and the short-lived flash of this life not capture their hearts and destroy them from within.  We can pray that the Lord use their position to shine, instead of allowing lust and vanity to consume their thoughts and actions.  We can pray that they find their accomplishment and recognition in God instead of the questions of press and the adoration of their fans.

To some degree, we all face these things, so really, in the end, we should be praying for each other in all of these aspects as well.  Because all of our hearts face these situations and we should not lose sight of God's loving truth.  Even if our job is to make it to the SuperBowl...or not.