Most of us who get these devotions have heard THE story—the account of Christ and His life, death and resurrection, and how we are forgiven for our sins and saved by faith in Him. It’s the ultimate and greatest story of all time!

Well, a while ago, I was in Medford playing soccer. In our last game, I was a little too fired up and used some words that I don't want to mention again. Right before the game I had specifically said, "Lord, I’m playing for You." After the game was over I realized that I had completely gone back on my word and let myself get caught up in the emotions of competition.

I live for glory—not the everyday, ordinary glory from people or things, but glory from God. It is easy as athletes and coaches to get caught up in receiving glory, because it comes from so many sources. A recent FCA theme was “For the Glory.” An easy way for me to remember to give God the glory is to break down the theme into FOR—Focus, Obey, and Reflect.

Focus: My focus as an athlete determines my destiny. It is a daily battle to be either a “me monster” or a “God pleaser.” Hebrews 12:2 encourages us to keep our eyes on Jesus. When we focus on Jesus, the glory will go to Him, not us.

You will find them on fields and in arenas, flying high to represent honor, pride and love. What could I be talking about but those huge banners and school flags that are so visible in sports today? These banners are flown proud and freely as if to say, "This is our team and our house. Much is at stake." These truly are a sight to see.

Chris Tidland is a very good golfer. However, for six straight years he missed the final cut in q-school by a couple of strokes. In 2005, it came down to the final hole, and he missed it by one stroke. Many athletes would stop trying after all those years, but knowing Chris, he would never give up. The following year, Tidland again found himself in the top 30 players on the leaderboard in the final round. Only the final 30 would advance to the PGA Tour the next season. Would he finish strong and get an early Christmas present?

The NCAA men's basketball tournament breeds controversy and cries of injustice. There are always teams who feel they deserve an at-large bid to the tournament and have their hopes crushed by the selection committee. The 2004 tournament selection was no different. Texas-El Paso snuck in with a 19-13 record, while Utah State, ranked No. 22 in the country with a 25-3 record, got snubbed. Then there are others who made it in, but feel they did not get the seed they deserved. Mama always told me, "Life isn't fair."

Our lives are so much bigger than what we can or cannot do on the playing field. Sometimes people think that the star athlete will be the best leader because of their athleticism. Or we think, Wow, if that person were a Christian they would have so much impact because they’re so popular and athletic.

The man who wrote 1 Peter 1:24 had an eternal impact even though he was what some would call a “spiritual scrub” or a “spiritual walk-on.” Peter was not the most popular, well- educated, or most athletic disciple. (Notice in the Book of John how he lost in a foot race with John to Jesus’ tomb.)

Former Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne said, “I’ve found that prayers work best when you have big players.” Maybe when it comes to football, big players do make the difference in prayer. In the game of life, I’ve discovered the bottom line to getting prayers answered. As I look back on the times God has answered my prayers, I know why I got the answer. It was because I prayed the right prayer. I was specific with God when I prayed.

In Malachi 3:10 the Lord says, “Test Me in this way…See if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out a blessing for you without measure.” Here we see the power of God to provide when we test Him. The way to test God is to be specific.