January 7, 2006
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God Part II
I saw an article in Sports Illustrated many years ago that asked the question “Does God answer prayer requests when you pray for your team to win?” I thought is was a funny question to ask. I was a kid at the time and I was praying for the Cubs to win the World Series. I am still praying for that to happen.
Does God answer prayers concerning sports teams?
Comments (147)
Maybe
Two days in a row? Wow and wow!
I’ll ask Him when I get to heaven.
The question is: Does winning this game help you get to Heaven?
I think not.
Nicholas
I don’t think so….
with god i think everything depends on the person and scenario
I’d like to think God has better things to do.
Like answering the prayers of starving or abused children.
Besides, sports had steroids to answer their prayers, but too many prayed too often.
It all depends. In fact, only some of my prayers were answered by God. But I don’t blame Him.
I think people are a little too self-absorbed in sports these days. Asking God to help your team win, for example, is a weird concept for me. Maybe asking him to prevent injuries or something along those lines…..
yes
I like what nothingbeast said about wanting to think God has better things to do.
Well, the other team’s fans are praying to win too, so God answer’s someone’s prayers in sports no matter what.
i only really matters to the ball players and if they believe that God answers their prayers. woof!
God is concerned with everything and He asks us to pray about everything. God sees the big picture however. He sees beyond the sports competition and the consequences of the results of a game. We may pray for our team to win, however, God will answer our prayers, but not necessarily in the way we had wished our prayers to be answered. God knows best!
i think God listens to them, but doesn’t grant them, but gives the players all the tools they need to do their best and may the best team win.
if it’s His will
i like the question someone posed from the comment above: “The question is: Does winning this game help you get to Heaven?”
hey, it could be the case here… 
i think maybe God helped start the path of those players or fans with the team winning… maybe God was just helping lead them along to Him; and part of that was winning the game…
hahah I hate sports…so my thinking is maybe God thinks may the best man win…have fun!
He is in control, but you shoudn’t test God, he’s in control just trust him. And it’s only a game.
-Joshua
this is one of those questions none of us have the answers for.
psh. no.
Hahaha, we’ll never know.
All depends on what the big guy thinks.
i doubt it….. that kinda seems selfish of the person who is praying for that when he could pray for other things
duh, thats the only reason why i pray, haha
peace max
I wish not. Sports are the most irrelevant idiotic, wasteful thing on the planet I hate them. If God does I’d feel a little betrayed.
hm. i think it depends. if it is His will, then he will let your team win.
what do you mean answer, do you mean “grant” prayers? if so, probably not.
Sure he answers them. Either yes, no, or not now. There is an answer, but what is it.
what the?
well I’m Christian and
I don’t think he would answer something like that.
maybe he would but, I doubt it a lot
God has bigger issues at hand.
I dunno… but I think he answers prayers concerning marching bands. When we were at State we all prayed really hard and we wound up getting 4th. And marching band is kinda a sport…
It’s a funny thing:
God has His all-powerful, sovereign will, yet He asks us to pray.
That’s a very hard concept, and many, many people haven’t grasped that (I know it, but it’s hard to think through).
Dan
Yes. He says, “Thou fool, there are more important things to pray about!”
no God is all like, “what are sports? And why would I care?” lol
P.S.
What’s with the “other issues at hand” and “other things to think about”? God is GOD. He does everything independently yet simultaneously. Yes, He hears prayers concening sports, but like The_AIM_hobo, he doesn’t have to “answer” in a positive way.
If you care enough about sports to be sincerely praying for one team to win, maybe you should check and see if you’re practicing idolatry.
I wonder about that…..I think maybe God has more serious prayer requests to attend to….but who knows?? God is God after all…..so maybe he does…..
Love, Candy
Thats funny…I bet God listens to those prayers…and laughs. The Cubs will never win the World Series…even with all his help.
Remember, it matters not whether you win or lose. What matters is whether I win or lose.
finally i have come to your site……sometimes on the main xanga page you are listen TWICE under the featured list….how does someone get listed 2 times at one time,,?? well too long i have lived in fear that I too might get sucked into this mega-blog. I now succumb to you oh theologian……may you fill my days with laughter and meaningful chatter. Im still kinda jealous because my site is rather kick-ass and i only have 26 subscribers. I only hope one day to be like you…..
God answers all prayers….. Its just Sometimes the answer is no. God desires to hear yor prayers no matter what they are. No matter how silly they seem. God knows your every want and desire anyway, why not tell him about it.
hEy! wow first time here! saw ur site on featured content all the time!
well anyways, i think not despite i’m an atheist…
things will always happen depend of how we control it,
praying just gives you hope, nothing more..
bn
oh and the answer is no….God dies answer prayers regarding sports…..he told me so himself
man it must have been that atheist that made me type die when i meant to type doesnt
I dunno, it’d be kinda hard to wouldn’t it, seeing that both teams playing would have fans and he can’t have 2 teams win…can he??
Hmm… I dunno. But I definitely think God has better things to do than help a team win a game.
Of course he doesn’t. That’s a gross misunderstanding of prayer.
God always awnsers prayers. You just dont always get the awnser your looking for
God ALWAYS ansers prayers… just sometimes he says no…
God answers prayers in one of three ways, yes, no , wait…just because you do not get the results you want does not mean that HE did not answer.
The Bible says that God wants to give us the desires of our hearts, and hears our prayers and answers before we even ask. Often, however, people mistake an answer for postitive answer. Often, we ask for something and recieve a “no” or “not now” — why do we label God as having to always answer “yes”?
Um…i am sure that GOD listen to a prayer^^have a great weekend : )
“The question is: Does winning this game help you get to Heaven?
I think not.
Nicholas
Posted 1/7/2006 at 11:47 AM by Nstacks”
I have to agree with Nstacks alot. I don’t think praying to God to help a team win a game will do anything.
It does boast moral a lot though.
“The question is: Does winning this game help you get to Heaven?
I think not.
Nicholas
Posted 1/7/2006 at 11:47 AM by Nstacks”
I have to agree with Nstacks alot. I don’t think praying to God to help a team win a game will do anything.
It does boast moral a lot though.
Maybe he just answers them on the point spread.
Well yes, but only to the winning team.
I hope so, because I am praying for the Colts to win the Superbowl. LOL
thats a bit of a broad question,
it really depends on the type of prayer,
like “God, i pray that the cubs will win the world series”…that is a prayer that will most likely not be answered,
but a prayer like “God, i pray that on matter the outcome of this world series, i pray that everyone will have a great time at the game reguardless of a win or a loss”
using prayer in a desparate attempt to win sports games is cheap and taking advantage of God,
so thats my opinion,
take care and God bless
wow…i really need to work on my grammar, lol
maybe, but nor for the superficial reason for having it win. God may let a team win if it is part of a bigger scheme or if it feeds into something more important.
haha, if he did, I’d be praying my ass off for the Redskins
except not
seeing as I’m athiest and I’d rather see my team win on their own then get a win from praying to god.
anyway though
HAIL TO THE REDSKINS! BUCS ARE GOING DOWN.
hey i’m jealous you get lots of comments. well random comments/props. i like your site tho. later
kels…
If you are still praying for the Cubs, then I guess you already have the answer. I would hope the Almighty might be more interested in other issues.
I’m not quite sure how that would work. What if, say, the Chiefs played the Browns (my favorite team and my husband’s favorite) and I prayed really hard for the Chiefs to win and my husband prayed really hard for the Browns to win? Who would God favor? Would He favor either one of us? How would He decide who wins and who loses? Hmm…thought provoking…
Yes God answers your prayers about sports teams! sometimes the answer just happens to be NO! lol!
♥ Meg
Well, I’m in Cleveland, if he does, then we sure don’t have enough praying people here!
one sentence posts 3+ times a day is subpar. god doesn’t answer prayers of people that cheat @ sports by doing steroids.
I’d say sometimes yes, and sometimes no. i have prayed for teams to win and they have lost, but a few times they have. i don’t know if that’s just chance or not.
NO, not for gambling.
I think God must look at prayer requests like that in the same way that parents look at requests from one child to return the other child to the hospital and leave him there.
He probably considers if foolish, childish, and sort of pathetic.
Ha ha ha!
it depends on the person who prays and the situation…
ive heard of testimonies of ppl joke-praying, but everything they prayed as a joke came to be, and that got them thinking that maybe it wasnt a joke after all… that lead them to Christ…
so its quite possible, yes…
true believers, believe that all prayers are answered.. no matter how big, small, petty, selfish, or caring..
so, sure whatever.. lol
well, if you think about it, people supporting both teams are praying. so He’s answering someone’s prayers! Sports probably arent a big deal to God, if they were, the angels and saints would win every year!
Perhaps.
as far as who will win? I dont know if i can answer that. I dont suppose so, it wouldnt be very fair to have the God of the universe on your side in a sporting event. Perhaps prayers for safety and fair play He does. I mean, look at the lions…Michigan has been praying for how long now?
I dont think he would. Personally I don’t believe he exists, but I used to. I was always taught that God will help you do what needs to be done. Winning a game is a material thing. But if winning that game is for the greater good then I don’t see why not? Although that doesnt seem likely. My english teacher is also a football coach and he had them change the prayer before the game. Instead of praying to win he changed it to pray that no one got hurt. I agree with him when he said we shouldn’t use God for our advantage, we should use him for everyone’s benifit. I think he answers everything we ask him for, but it might not be the answer we expect. One of my favorite musicians, Tom Waits, said when talking about war “Dont they pray to the same God we do? How does He choose? Who’s prayers does he refuse?” I wish I knew the answers to those questions.
I don’t know…
I think that’s one of those things we won’t know this side of heaven….
Interesting question.
During the Civil War, both the North and the South prayed to God that their side prevail; that their cause was more just than the other. Men are clouded in their thinking and can sometimes see things only from their narrow point of view. Lincoln put it well in his Second Inaugural address, when describing the outcome of the Civil War:
“Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained… Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes… If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?”
Interesting question.
During the Civil War, both the North and the South prayed to God that their side prevail; that their cause was more just than the other. Men are clouded in their thinking and can sometimes see things only from their narrow point of view. Lincoln put it well in his Second Inaugural address, when describing the outcome of the Civil War:
“Neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has already attained… Both read the same Bible and pray to the same God, and each invokes His aid against the other. It may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God’s assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men’s faces, but let us judge not, that we be not judged. The prayers of both could not be answered. That of neither has been answered fully. The Almighty has His own purposes… If we shall suppose that American slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued through His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that He gives to both North and South this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom the offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living God always ascribe to Him?”
I’d say He does if it works out as part of the bigger plan… it would be unrealistic to think that if you pray hard enough He would do what you want, partly because one person’s loss is another person’s win (same applies for wars, lol)
The one I like is when players for a team after a game say “I want to thank God for helping us win today” or “I want to thank God for helping me to catch the ball.” Oh really? Why don’t you ever see them when they screw up saying “God made me drop that game winning touchdown” or “Thanks a lot, Almighty, for making us lose the Super Bowl.” You never seem to see that….
I don’t think so. But I’m an atheist, so I really don’t count, do I?
God answers all prayers…. he just doesn’t always answer them the way you want him too.
Yes he does, but not necessarily the answer you want. Who knows? I’m sure there are more important things to pray about anyway.
God answers every prayer, so why not?
doesn’t matter how small the request is, if it is concerning you, then it concerns Him.
no because what if more than one person prays for the opposite team to win. you should totally get a new layout. the royal blue is kind of old.
Well He’s sort of getting too many conflicting messages. Like, if half the people want the Yankees to win, and the other half want the Red Sox to win, and they all pray to God that their team will win…maybe He just lets the game play out by itself.
Even if God answers back with your team winning, while he was answering your prayer, he was letting down others. Think about it this way, don’t you think that some of the fans of the losing team were praying too? If he does answer prayers for teams to win, at the end of the day he’s not just answering your prayer, he’s screwing over other people’s prayers for the losing team.
He probably doesn’t have the time…but then again, he’s s’posed to answer all prayers, right?
Maybe, if He feels like granting a certain city a little sports-joy. Maybe even more if the prayer is from a person who really needs it. Like, if a little boys’ or girls’ favorite team hasn’t won in forever, and they’re having a hard time with something, maybe that team would get out of their slump.
Well yes. But to both teams, that way it’s equal. Another reason why I don’t believe.
Maybe if making a team win would allow someone to go to God somehow. Then yeah.
If one team was a Christian team and the other was Satanists, He would probably give His saints a hand but in any other case, I guess it’s His favorite team that will win.
if God exists, he doesnt answer prayers.
he has no time to give miracles.
what happens was meant to happen, as He wills it.
but prayers dont sway that.
he has not time to give miracles.
he expects His people to be the miracle.
i know, from Bruce Almighty…
but its true.
You’d have to define “God.”
I’ll be saying a prayer for the Jags to WIN tonight, but it’s probably not going to be answered….
I think many Texans were praying for the Longhorns!
We definitely had the talent, but an extra prayer to God never hurts! It may be a little selfish, but I don’t believe that God is a stuffy God, I believe he does want His people to be happy and have fun. I don’t think it is wrong to pray for something like that.
Sure, His But He’s Also answering the other fans prayers
No, really though.. JESUS SAID:
“All things are possible to him who believes.”
So, Biblically, I don’t see why not, though as I’ve said many
times, sometimes God’s answer is “no” or “not now”.
No.
I think he just laughs at those.
Erika
Hrm.. who knows? People pray for various foolish things.. but then it all depends..
no cause
A. it dosne’t really matter i mean it matters to the players cause they get paid but deffenitly not us
B. GOD is on both sides
C. sports are lame cause GOD wants us to be wise not sweat our bodies get paid LOTS of money and be a wet match in a dark cave.
Sports i do not like.
Erica
but it is true if it concers us no matter what it concers GOD.
but i’m not 100% sure on tat statement.
No only tennis players who have talent.
yes
maybe the part about them being safe and no one getting hurt … but winning? I mean what if the other team is praying the same thing? naw … I think it has to do with will and how good the game is executed.
Yes, he does . . .and sometimes he says “no.” ;o)
Sometimes. If he’s in the mood to do so.
How is he going to choose which team? Don’t they both pray just as hard to win?
No. He’s too busy answering the prayrers of students who didn’t study for their tests.
God does whatever his predestined plan says happenes.
If you believe hard enough, than maybe yeah…
*coughs* Every team wins and looses and ties at the same time, just not in the same universe. I’m sorry, did I answer the question?
I’ve been praying for the Cubs for a long time.
I certainly hope not. And further more I hate the emails passed around saying I’m saying a prayer for you for good health, finanacial blessings, etc. It’s the financial stuff I can’t stand. It’s the wrong thing to pray for in such a non-specific way. It’s different if a terrible event has destroyed the economic base of a family but just to say Hey, I’m praying that you’ll have money so pray that for me too….. It’s just wrong. I know – off topic. peace
God doesn’t take sides.
Absolutely. Nothing is too trivial for God. He’s God; there is no way for Him to be too busy. Of course, sometimes the answer is no, like with the Cubs. I’m not sure how much God directly influences a game, though. Does he send an occasional breeze to help a kicker, or to help a kicker miss so that he will lose his position and be traded to another team? Does he strengthen feeble knees and failing arms? Does he protect players from injury? or Has he already worked it out for the best, regardless of your request?
“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.” …all things
God always answers prayers… but sometimes the answer is no.
No.
Maybe sometimes the answer is “I won’t dignify that with an answer.”
God answers every prayer, but we tend to believe that if the answer is “no” thats is no answer at all…..So if we pray for our team to win and they lose, thats an answer: God said “no”.
Simple.
Only if your are talented as crap!
Oh, and Catholic (according to the Catholics)
or Baptist (according to the Baptist)
or Muslim
or . . . .
The question is not do all roads lead to heaven but how many heavens are there for us to enter?
i don’t think so. i thought God was a Trojan when I watched the Notre Dame game…but… seems like he’s switched to bein’ Texan
maybe god helps the teams win by giving the players talent when they are born, and the drive to succeed…but beyond that I’m not sure he lends a hand.
No….cause the other team may be paying to win….then it would be confusion.
Whoops I meant praying
ah heh-NO! He has starving people to worry about
theologans don’t know nothin bout my soul
Haha. Well…… I have another question… when Brittney Spears prays for her song to be number one, does he listen then? And if the answer is yes, than maybe he does!
No. That would be unfair to the other team. But you could ask for a fair game and no injuries.
Tay
i THiNK GOD LiSTENS TO ALL PRAYERS. HE MAY NOT ANSWER THEM ALL THOUGH.
i seem to remember “pray in the Spirit on ALL occasions with ALL kinds of prayers and requests” which means that sure, you can pray. but there could be a good reason why ur team loses that you don’t know about, so just bc a team loses when u pray for them to win doesnt mean God doesnt answer sports prayers. it means he’s answering it in a way that’s different than you wanted.
Well, i prayed for the Ravens to win the superbowl and they did…Keep trying!
P.S. Sure, why wouldn’t he? It might not be the answer we wanted, but it’s still an answer!
at least 50% of the time, anyway, huh?
if we are saved, God answers all prayers, but sometimes, that answer is just, ‘no’ or ‘not right now’ the thing is though-one person may be praying for one team to win, and another person will be praying for their team to win, but only one team can win.
I really dont think so. He might. Maybe you should ask him about it.
um…i think he does if it is 4 the good of everything…i beleive everything happens according 2 God’s will n that everything that happenz haz a specific purpose.
II***GeMiNi***II
yeah he answers all prayers. it’s just that sometimes the answer is no
I had to give this a shot…
Don’t laugh at this! Just do it!
My best friend just did this, this morning, wished for her promotion and
just got a call and she got it.
Start thinking something you really really want, cause this is
astounding. the person that sent this to me said their wish came true 10
mins after they read the mail so I thought what the heck.
******
******
******
******
**********
(,)(,)
*…..*
You have just been visited by Dr.Suess’s Cat in the Hat. He will grant
you
one wish.
Make your wish when the count down is over.
10..
9..
8..
7..
6..
5..
4..
3..
2..
1..
MAKE A WISH
Send this to 10 people within the hour you read this.
If you do, your wish will come true! . If you don’t it will become the
opposite.
I doubt it.
God answers every prayer that people pray. The answer just isn’t always the one we want, But he ALWAYS answeres every one.
Ever think God’s answer is no?
Haha, I’ve tried praying for my sports team to win before, but they didn’t. Just look at it this way–there could possibly be someone praying for the opposing team to win.
God answers all prayers.
there answer isn’t necessarily “yes”. it can be “no.” and it can be “wait.” but God answers all prayers.
Maybe he listens to the prayers of those who will go crazy if their team doesnt win.
no idea