Should Prayer Be Allowed in the Huddle?

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call.Here’s this week’s question:“Dear Dave and Tom, I’ve been amused this last football season to see the controversy over whether or not a high school team was allowed to pray before a game.However, as I have gotten into discussions about it with Christians and non-Christians I’m finding that it’s a pretty complex issue. Or am I and others making it more difficult than it is?I’d like to hear what you guys think.”

Tom:

Now Dave, this is a very sensitive question for me because I’m going to have to defer to you to answer it but I might throw something in.

Dave:

Don’t defer to me Tom.

Tom:

The reason that I have to stay objective about this is because at the time of this taping the Ohio State University Buckeyes are about to play Michigan State Wolverines and the Buckeyes are 12 and 0.Everything is on the line for this, their whole season, the big 10 championship—

Dave:

And you’re going to pray for the Buckeyes to win?

Tom:

Well that’s why I’m telling you, I’m not exactly an unbiased objective individual in this.So that’s why I have to defer to you.What do you think, Dave?

Dave:

Yeah, but it’s not about the fans—

Tom:

Should I condescend to pray for the Buckeyes?

Dave:

Tom, number one, this is not about fans.

Tom:

I don’t care what these Wolverines think out there about this issue.

Dave:

This is about the teams praying apparently.Now, if you think that it is God’s will for the Buckeyes to win, then you go ahead and pray and not thy will but thine be done, and we’ll see.I think you could pray, may the best team win, something like that.Don’t let there be any chance happenings that would cause the best team to lose.That might be a valid prayer, I don’t know, Tom.

Tom:

Is God interested in all this?

Dave:

You know, a sparrow doesn’t fall to the ground without your heavenly Father knowing and being concerned about it.

Tom:

Yeah, what if the Wolverines have greater prayer warriors than the Buckeyes? That’s an issue.

Dave:

I don’t think that’s going to do it.“You ask anything according to my will and I will do it.”Could be that God doesn’t even care who wins unless there are some circumstances involved.See, I don’t know, that’s one reason why I could not pray make the Buckeyes, win or the Wolverines win, because I don’t know all the implications involved in that and if I were in your position I would only be praying for selfish reasons and that’s actually what most people pray for.

Tom:

I think you’ve got me pegged, Dave.

Dave:

They pray from selfish reasons.Prayer is sort of a—well, I’ve said it so often,—prayer is a religious technique to get our own way for most people, Christians, and non-Christians.We have our ideas of what we would like to have happen and then we try to talk God into working it out.Okay God wouldn’t you work it out for me? We’ve been through this many times, Tom.Jesus said, “Whatever you ask in my name I will do it.”Oh then, I’ll tack on the name of Jesus, then surely he’ll do it. But it must mean something more than that.“Whatever you ask in my name,” means you are asking what I would do.You’re asking to my glory, this is something that I would want to happen and now you are in agreement with me, then I can answer that prayer and I’ve given you the privilege of being in agreement with me and praying and having a concern of your heart and so forth.That’s what it means to pray in the name of Jesus.It’s not that I can throw this out like a magic formula to get what I want.Then Jesus said, “If you have faith like a grain of mustard seed you can say to this mountain, Be thou removed and it will happen.”Some people think it takes a lot of faith.No, Jesus said, a grain of mustard seed is worth a faith that will move mountains. But Jesus said, “Have faith in God.”So, faith again, is not some power that I can bring to bear on this now and I pray and if I can just believe that what I am praying for will happen, then it’s going to happen, that’s mind power.I must believe that what I am praying for God will cause it to happen.Well then, that changes everything.Maybe it’s not God’s will or his way or his time and so forth.So, prayer is a little more complex than that.Now, should the teams pray ahead of time?Tom, that’s another subject.

Tom:

Well, it’s not another subject; it’s really an issue here because teams are made up of believers and non-believers.When a coach brings a team together he’s in effect, asking these people who don’t believe in God to cry out to God for something.Does God hear the prayer of an unbeliever, outside of wanting to know him and wanting to receive the salvation that he offers?

Dave:

No, he doesn’t hear their prayer and Tom, I would hate to mention who it was and so forth but it’s my understanding— I wasn’t there— that top team and I won’t say which Super Bowl that was supposed to win the Super Bowl and they had a number of Christians and they were just almost carrying on with spiritual warfare, claiming the victory and so forth and they lost.Now, you get Christians who have been witnessing to their teammates and then they claim the victory and then you lose, what does that do to the faith of someone, or the embryonic faith of someone you have been witnessing to trying to get them to put their trust in God and you set yourself up as an example of someone who is trusting God and walking with the Lord and then you ask him for your team to win and you lose—you could stumble the faith of someone.

Tom:

Dave, I have no plans to pray for the Buckeyes to win but, boy!

Dave:

I’m really relieved about that, Tom.

Tom:

Okay, not that I’m not going to root for them, but on the other hand, I have kids as you know, who are very much involved in sports, athletics and that’s my prayer for them, that the Lord keep them from injury, that they help them to do their best to his glory.

Dave:

And we really want to put our lives in God’s hands.I pray continually, Lord, please help me to do a better job of presenting the gospel—help me to be more articulate, help me to make the case better so that nobody can disagree.