Coaches & Leadership
The chaplain called out sick. The team is gathered. Everyone is looking at you. And you have been asked — or it is simply assumed — that you are going to say something that resembles a prayer or a devotional.
This is a more common situation than anyone plans for. And the instinct in that moment is usually one of two things: either recite something that sounds like what you’ve heard before but doesn’t feel genuine, or awkwardly pass to someone else. Both of those options are worse than what is actually available to you.
Read this passage slowly.
And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
Matthew 6:7–8 — NIVLet that sit for a second before you move.
Do not keep on babbling. Jesus is describing the prayer that performs for an audience rather than communicates with God — the many words that are designed to sound impressive rather than to say something real. The instruction that follows — the Lord’s Prayer — is remarkably short and direct. It covers what matters, nothing more.
The coach who is asked to pray and doesn’t know what to say has exactly the right material for an honest prayer: the actual situation of the team right now, the specific thing they are about to do, the genuine need that is present in the room. That is what prayer is for. Not the recitation of the correct religious language. The honest conversation with God about what is real.
A brief, honest prayer from a coach who is not a trained minister is worth more to the athletes in the room than the technically correct prayer that the coach clearly does not mean. Tell God what is actually happening. Ask for what you actually need. Use the words you actually have. Amen. The room will receive that.
A brief, honest prayer from a coach who is not a minister is worth more to the athletes than a technically correct prayer the coach clearly does not mean. Tell God what is real. Ask for what you actually need.
If you were asked to pray for this team right now, in your own words — not the religious words, your words — what would you actually say?
Practice exercise. Let the coach answer this out loud. The answer is usually better than they expected.
Tell God what is real. Ask for what you actually need. Amen. That is a prayer.
This devotional is for coaches who may be asked to lead prayer without preparation. It can also be used in a coaches’ group as a practical preparation exercise.