On this morning, one year ago, many people were waking up to hear the news about what happened to Damar Hamlin in the football game the night before. Many of us watched it live. It was really difficult to watch. He went into cardiac arrest after making a seemingly routine tackle. The medical personnel performed CPR on him for several minutes and were able to get his heart beating again. I think it’s fair to say that we watched him die and then be brought back to life. The NFL made the right choice and canceled the rest of the game.
As the medical team was doing their work, a majority of all the players and coaches went to their knees to pray. They didn’t know what else to do. So they prayed. Which was the right thing to do. I am a firm believer in the power of prayer. I have been on the receiving end of the power of prayer. My family has as well. Friends that I know too. When we find ourselves facing difficult times, we should turn to prayer. Why is that? My answer is this: I know that we serve an awesome God. A loving God. A God whose plan is beyond our understanding. But it is perfect.
I would also like to suggest something. Many of you are already doing this. Many of you are not. And I know that I need to be more consistent myself. Let’s begin making prayer a priority in our lives. And I don’t mean pray just pray. I mean let’s make prayer a real priority. Let’s be diligent about it. Let’s be focused on praying when we are praying. Maybe we should all begin each day going to our knees in prayer. Just as human fathers want to hear from their children, God wants to hear from us. His children. It’s a way that we can “bless” God. Let’s not just pray when times are tough. Instead, let’s pray for his guidance. Let’s ask him to lead us so we can serve him. And after we pray this prayer, let’s believe and know that he will guide us. Because he loves us. He always has. He always will.
