January/Feburary 2010

Prayer Circles: For Show or For Real?

For a number of years I have helped lead a post-game prayer circle at the 50-yard line for the University of Nebraska football team. The prayer circle is voluntary and open to both the home and visiting teams. It lasts for only a few minutes and consists of one or two men who pray out loud to the Lord.

To me, this post-game prayer is a calling. It is right to worship God anywhere, anyplace, anytime! And I also believe that it is my role to keep that Christ-centered worship just what it is: Christ and Christ-only worship. If non-Christ-centered faith groups want to have a post-game prayer, there’s enough room on the field for them to do it, but I take responsibility to make sure that the Christ-centered prayer circle doesn’t become “one size fits all.”

Look at John 4:24. It says, “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” Regarding that truth, Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

In light of these Scriptures, there is a growing concern I have about athletic prayer circles. Are they for show, or are they for real?

First, let’s ask why we even have a prayer circle after the game. Ironically the prayer circle has been scrutinized by the legal powers-that-be. One Nebraska state senator noted publicly some years back that I shouldn’t be leading the post-game prayer circle. He, along with a number of others, thought that my involvement was violating the law of the land because I was a coach at the University of Nebraska, which would technically tag me as a member of the government endorsing religion.

In a newspaper article, the senator challenged me, indicating that if I was a Christian I should know what Jesus said in Matthew 6:5-6: “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”

The senator brought up an interesting point. Forget about legality for a second; are we even biblically on target with public prayer demonstrations both in pre- and post-game scenarios? Are we Christian athletes and coaches who pray on the 50-yard lines just like the hypocrites who pray in the churches and on the street corners?

Ultimately, it depends on our motivation. Jesus brought it up when He included the phrase, “to be seen by people.”

If public prayer is motivated by a desire to be seen or exalted by others, it is hypocritical and wrong. When the Nebraska senator chose to use Matthew 6:5-6 as a rod on my backside, I thought and prayed about it. What I realized was that there was another portion of Scripture to take into consideration.

In John 11, just before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He prayed to God the Father publicly: “Father, I thank You that You heard Me. I know that You always hear Me, but because of the crowd standing here I said this, so they may believe You sent Me” (v. 41-42).

No question, Jesus found a place for public prayer—even for the public to hear that prayer. So, my conclusion is this: If we are praying publicly to be seen or exalted by others, we’re dead wrong. But we are just as wrong if we pray with a proud spirit even in private, and equally as wrong if we are ashamed to pray in public. It all depends on the condition of our hearts. And some of us are just ashamed to pray in front of others regardless.

In my life, I have been given the capacity under the influence of God’s Spirit to pray effectively, powerfully and authentically both in private (just me and the Lord) and in public (me, the Lord and a bunch of other folks). It all depends on whether or not we truly have a sincere, humble heart before God—one that is Christ-centered. And I would challenge all of us to engage in circumstance-free, Christ-centered worship and prayer, whether in private or public.

So, consider post-game prayer circles. Are they for show or for real? That all depends on the folks who are praying.

I know one thing. I wouldn’t base that answer on the opinion of senators, but, rather, on the truth of my Savior. 

--For more stories about faith and sport, visit www.sharingthevictory.com, the official magazine of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. To subscribe to STV, click here.