The Christian AthleteSample

Christian Athletes Integrate God into Their Entire Athletic Experience

The Christian athlete understands that when God purchased them through the death and resurrection of Jesus, He purchased everything.

This includes their sport.

And not just the post-highlight-reel performance that leads to a platform, which offers an opportunity to talk about God to a watching world. The Christian athlete has a growing understanding that God wants all of their athletic experience—from the time they get up to start training to the time they lay their head back on their pillow.

In 1 Corinthians 10:31, Pauls says “whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

It has been rightly pointed out that the “whatever you do” is proof that the Christian athlete can, and should, seek to glorify God using sports. But we often limit the main category of sport to competition.

Competition is about one percent of the life of an athlete.

The other ninety-nine percent is spent practicing, lifting, stretching, preparing, eating, and resting. And then there are the relationships. The Christian athlete understands that God cares about how they interact with their teammates, their coaches, their trainers, and yes, even their rivals.

The “whatever you do” from 1 Corinthians 10:31 includes everything that happens in your athletic experience.

God cares about it all.

In light of that truth, the Christian athlete finds ways to consistently integrate their faith within every category of their sport through their thoughts and actions. They do not go long stretches of practice or play without consciously thinking about how God wants to be included in what they are doing.

God wants us to give Him what is rightfully His. This does not mean He wants to take it from us so we can never use (or play) it again, but that He wants us to leverage it in a way that magnifies His name. In practicing the discipline of including God in all aspects of their sport, the Christian athlete increases their own joy—and glorifies God in the process.

Christian athlete prayer of the day:

“God, forgive me for thinking you’re more concerned with how I compete than the other 99% of my life. I know you want it all. I want to start paying attention to the other categories of my life and give you the glory through them all. Would you help me with this? Would you bring to mind areas in my life that I am leaving you out of and help me invite you into those spaces? I don’t even need to invite you, I give you permission to barge in and show me what it looks like to live fully for you. I want my relationship with you to transcend every category of my life—for your glory and my joy. Amen.”