Is There Any Point in Praying for the Super Bowl? - 31 Jan 2014

This blog was originally published on January 31st 2014

This Sunday, as the Seahawks face off against the Broncos, America will be watching.

But that’s not all they’ll be doing. They’ll also be tweeting around 30 million times (#superbowl), 1/3 of them will be gambling, they’ll be eating a staggering 1.23 billion chicken wings and, potentially, 15% of them will be missing the birth of their child (or have at least threatened to, should they be called upon to make the choice). 

And all this down to America’s biggest sporting event.

Last year, 108.4 million people sat down to watch. Of the 10 highest viewed TV shows in the history of American television, 9 of them were Super Bowls.

Needless to say, people care about this game. 

In fact, companies understand just how much people care, and are fighting to pay up to 4 million dollars for a 30 second advertising spot between quarters. 

I am certain that, whether people believe it theologically correct, countless prayers will be uttered as the clock runs down to full time.

BUT REALLY, SHOULD WE PRAY FOR THE SUPER BOWL? 

As a UK citizen I am not overly concerned with the outcome of Sunday’s game. But, as a life long supporter on Man Utd, I would be lying if I said I haven’t prayed for my beloved team - especially in the last 5 months. 

(Thank you Jesus for Mata)

I think the question about whether we should pray for the Super Bowl, highlights a bit of a problem with our understanding of prayer:

Do I think that God, if I pray, will divinely intervene on behalf of the Seahawks or the Broncos? I honestly have no idea. 

Do I think that if I had spent a bit of extra time in prayer for Utd, we would have landed another big signing this January to save our season? Probably not.

But I also don’t think those are the right questions. Better questions would be:

Do I care about Man Utd? Yes. 

Do people care about the Super Bowl? Yes.

Therefore, should I pray about the Super Bowl? Of course.

Why? Because, I believe that God is interested in every part of my life. Not just the things of cosmic significance but the everyday things that make me, me. 

If the answer to whether we should pray for the Super Bowl hangs on whether or not it effects the outcome of the game then I would suggest it’s not worth it. 

But, if prayer isn’t just calling in divine reinforcement and asking God to do stuff or fix stuff; if it’s meant to be a real relationship with the Living God who calls himself Father, then I can only believe that he wants to be included in our passion for the Super Bowl. 

All images are used by permission in accordance with commons copyright license terms:
Feature image is a derivative of the image 'Seahawks vs 49ers 2013' by Philip Robertson and 'Seahawks Fans' by Jim Dicecco