Yankee fans for Jesus, arise! Pray for your team!

Ball players and their fans are very superstitious creatures. Ballplayers will do anything to get a hitting streak going. Pitchers will do anything to get a winning streak going. The fans will go anything to get a rally going if their team is behind during a game. They'll do everything from not washing their socks, to putting tar on their helmets. When a pitcher is throwing a perfect game, the rest of the players stay away from him, thinking that their mere presence is going to mess up his chances to make that milestone. New York Yankees SS Derek Jeter, our beloved captain is very superstitious. If he or his team is approaching some kind of milestone that he is not aware of, he will dog the media and say that they jinxed the team by bringing it to his attention. Case in point: during a post-game interview a couple of days before the Yankees beat the 2006 Boston Red Sox team record for most consecutive games played without committing an error, Kimberly Jones brought it his attention. The first thing that he tells her is, "Why did you tell me that, it's bad karma, " then he answers the questions. In a commercial on the MLB Network, they show fans showing up at the gate to their favorite teams ballparks some of them have face-paint on. Others are dressed like Shamans carrying Voodoo beads. Come on, people. Enough with the superstitions all ready! How about praying for your team? I do it! Whenever the Yankees are behind in a game and they're rallying, I lean forward in my chair and put in my hands together and bring them to my face in a praying position thinking, sometimes saying, "Come on!" I do this because I believe it will bring God into the situation and the Yankees will bring home runs. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Either way, I praise the Lord because ultimately the game is in His hands. Only He knows the outcome, but I believe prayer does more than just spark up a rally a bring in runs.

One thing that is does is bring unity to a team. I believe that if any team, baseball or otherwise, gets their team together and pray, it brings unity. Everybody will be in sync and the team operates like a well-oiled machine. When a team operates like this, there is less margin for error. It's possible that the Yankees broke the Major League record for most consecutive games played without committing an error because there were people on the team praying for unity. Among the players on the team that are Christians include Andy Pettitte and Mariano Rivera. It wasn't any karma or anything like that. For a good example of what I'm talking about, pick up the movie Facing the Giants at my Christian A-Store.

The 2nd thing that prayer does is bring healing to the team. You hear reports about injuries come all the time. A-Rod came back ahead of schedule from a torn labrum ahead of schedule, it's possibly God moved and healed him quickly because people were praying for him. OK, so shoot me, he's had a history of steroid use and quite possibly may have used HGH to heal quicker. The Bible says that God uses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise. (1 Cor 1:27). I believe that prayer over Chien Ming Wang will continue to heal that weakened hip. I believe that prayer over Jorge Posada will keep that hamstring and shoulder from acting up. I believe that prayer over Brian Bruney will continue to heal that elbow. God willing, they'll all be back to 100% in no time. Let's keep our players in prayer.

The 3rd thing that prayer does is bring comfort to the team. You've heard reports about Nick Adenhart from the Los Angeles Angels. He died in a hit and run 3 car collision. All of the team members were devestated. All of the fans were devastated. Even the grounds-crew at the stadium were devastated. Prayer may not have brought him back from the dead,  (In very rare cases, prayer does do that.) but at least we can pray for those that were close to him: his family, his teammates, etc. You'll notice that at every mention of someone in Major League Baseball passing away, there will be a mention of prayers and condolences. I believe it was because of prayer that the Angels were able to press on and continue the season. Longtime Yankee fans will remember the death of Thurman Munson. He died in a plane crash in the late '70s. The day it was announced at the old Yankee Stadium, everybody was crying. The fans were crying. The players were crying. If you watch Yankeeography, you've probably seen clips of Reggie Jackson crying in the outfield. I believe it was the prayers of the fans that gave Lou Piniella the strength to spark up the team by getting the game-winning hit the next day.

The final thing that prayer does with consistency is give you victory. Everybody in Yankee-land is livid over this early season losing streak with the Red Sox. If we pray for victory, God will give it to them. The Yankees and the Red Sox play 19 games this season. There is no way we're going to go 0-19 against them this year. In 2003, my son was born. Greatest day of my life. In the Summer of 2006, he began having seizures. It was 1 trip to the ER after another. They tried 3 different medications. One almost killed him, the 2nd one was ineffective. I continually asked my church to pray for them. Now I am happy to say that he hasn't had a seizure in 3 years. God gave us the victory. Let's pray that God will consistently give the Yankees victories against the right teams, at the right times, and not give up hope.

To follow are 2 honorable mentions where God made a difference in the life of an athlete. 1 is Josh Hamilton from the Texas Rangers and the other is former professional wrestler Lex Luger.

Josh Hamilton lost 2 years of his baseball career after being a #1 draft pick for the Tampa Bay Rays back in 1999. He was getting paid a lot of money. He began hanging out with the wrong crowds and eventually got hooked on drugs. The day came and he asked Jesus to set him free. Here is his testimony.

Lex Luger. He's been called the Total Package. He's been called The Narcissist. One night on a routine flight between wrestling events, he felt something in his neck. He tried to move it around and make an adjustment. He got off the flight fine, but the next morning, he could not move. He was taken to the hospital. They told him he had a spinal stroke and he may never walk again. He accepted God into his life as well. Prior to his injury he had personal problems, did drugs, and spent time in jail. Here is his testimony:

Now that you've seen how God can make a difference in the life of an athlete. What's going on in your life? Is everything okay? There is no problem that God can't handle. Here's your opportunity to make a decision. Do you want to follow Christ? If you do, keep reading. If not, feel free to stop reading now, leave me a nasty post about how God ain't real, and have a nice day.

The Bible says that if you believe in your heart and confess with your tongue that Christ is Lord, that you will be saved. Just say this prayer right now:

Jesus, come in my heart. Be my Lord. Be my Savior. Forgive me of my sins, Lord. Cleanse me. I believe that you died on the cross and on the third day you rose from the dead. You died that I may live life and life more abundantly in you. I accept you as my personal Lord and Savior. Baptize me in the Holy Spirit. In Jesus name. Amen.

If you said this prayer, I encourage you to find a church & start attending regularly. The church I go to is part of a network of churches called Victory Outreach. We have over 500 ministries in over 30 countries all around the world. Check out their web site. Click here. I encourage you to start reading the Bible as well. Start with the Gospel of John. You can find a good easy to read Bible at my Christian A-Store. You can also find books, DVDs, & MP3 music albums there that will keep you on fire for God. Welcome to Christianity, you hardcore Yankee fan you. Follow me on Twitter. Just click on the link in my profile. I pray blessings upon you and your family in the future. God bless you.