God and The Big Game

The Super Bowl is the annual championship game between the champions of the National and American Football Leagues, recognized as the second-largest day for U.S. food consumption (after Thanksgiving Day), and one of the most-watched American television broadcasts of the year, with many looking forward to see the creative and expensive commercial advertisements during the broadcast.
Since 2004, the game has been played on the first Sunday in February. This year, however, the date of the game had to be reset after the NFL decided to expand the schedule to 17 games this year. With the extra game, the regular season is now 18 weeks long, which means the Super Bowl is now being moved from the first Sunday in February to the second Sunday in February.
It also means that last Sunday was a National Day of Prayer as the Rams and Bengals met in California. Okay, not “officially.” It wasn’t sanctioned by any denomination or governmental decree. But chances are there were more prayers sent heavenward last Sunday than most Sundays. Prayers were going up for favorite teams by fans, players, family members, coaches, and investment brokers all over this country.
Did God really care who won the game? Could our prayers have had an influence on the outcome?
I confess I’m more than happy that there are public figures acknowledging the importance of faith in their lives, but I’m not so sure about the implication that Jesus Christ helps anyone "kick butt" on or off the field, except maybe in cases of spiritual warfare.
I don’t believe coin tosses and football games are the best testing grounds for our prayer life, and “Hail Mary’s” aren’t the only ways to connect with the divine.
Jesus had three years in which to save the world. He spent those three years investing everything He had in building a team. This team He chose would be charged with continuing His ministry and carrying the gospel into and throughout the world. Before He chose His team, however, He spent the night in prayer (Luke 6:12-13). The greatest decision Jesus made for the sake of the gospel was made after He spent the night in prayer to God. Only after that extended time in prayer did Jesus choose His disciples.
That raises some important questions for all of us as Christ Followers. Following the example of Christ, do we pray before we make important decisions in our life? Do we ask for God’s guidance? Do we ask for God’s help to be all that we can be in upcoming events?
Prayer changes things. But more importantly, prayer changes us. A prayer-conditioned life conditions us to receive God’s presence and power.
So, should players pray for victory? I believe God may inspire players to do their best, but the game outcome will be up to human effort and circumstance, not divine intervention. I don’t believe God cared about the scoreboard in Sunday’s game, but God does care about the players. God cares about you and God cares about me. That makes us all winners.