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"Wilson," Coach McCord would say, "lead us in prayer." It happened almost every game. Coach would finish his last minute pep talk then call on me to lead in prayer before we went out on the field to lose the game. (We were the absolute worst football team in the state of Texas.) I'd usually pray for the safety of both teams and that our team would win. (It would take Divine intervention.)

Later in life I've reflected on those prayers and asked myself, "Does God really care who wins a High School football game?" I mean, this isn't really David and Goliath stuff. We were not the "army of God" and they were not "uncircumcised Philistines!" We weren't battling for the Lord against ungodly foes-it was just a game.

I've noticed that Coach McCord isn't the only one who mixes faith and football to no avail. Last year, the Falcon's Eugene Robinson had a busy day before he played in the Super Bowl. In the afternoon, he was awarded the "Bart Starr Award" for his "high moral character" from the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Later that night, his General Manager had to bail him out of jail for soliciting an undercover police woman for sexual favors.

Call me cynical if you want, but I really don't think the Falcons lost last year because Robinson turned out to be a spiritual flake, I think it had something to do with Elway's arm.

If all it took to win a sporting event is a strong faith, then every team would be trying to sign Billy Graham to be their quarterback. The reason the Rams won the Super Bowl XXXIV had more to do with Warner's arm than his faith. But the reason Warner is such a winner in life has more to do with his faith than his arm. 

Life-now that's something that God cares about!

Read "Being a Winner, in Spite of Yourself" the sermon that corresponds to this devotional