One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. Luke 6:12
And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. Mark 1:35 (ESV)
And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. Mark 6:46 (ESV)
Jaylen Hurts, the quarterback of the Philadelphia Eagles, has been on fire! According to some reports, this young man spent much of his off-season training and studying to greatly improve his game. Instead of living a life of luxury that his NFL salary has afforded him, he has chosen instead to abstain from the things that might get in his way and keep his eye on the prize of winning a Super Bowl. These actions have helped him prepare for the high-stress games that define the NFL.
There was a popular phrase some years ago where Christians would ask, “What would Jesus do?” when trying to decide how to navigate a certain situation. In his book, Family Systems and Congregational Life, Author Robert Creech says, “We may sincerely ask, ‘What would Jesus do?’ And then attempt to imitate his behavior in intense situations. We might as well ask, ‘What would Beethoven do?’ And then attempt to play the piano. The better question is, ‘What did Jesus do before intense situations arose?’” (Creech, 158)
Imagine showing up to football game to play quarterback and asking yourself, “What would Jaylen Hurts do?” Do you believe contemplating that question would have any effect on your actual ability to play quarterback? The game of football moves so fast it takes years of playing and training to play a position like quarterback at any level. Similarly, trying to be like Christ is more than just thinking about what Jesus would do in intense situations. Instead, it’s modeling our lives after the fully-incarnate deity who still took time to pray in solitude and commune with God. Like Jaylen Hurts preparing for the big game in the off-season, we should spend a part of each day preparing to live the life to which we have been called.
If we really want to do what Jesus would do, we must, as Creech concludes, practice disciplines of “solitude, silence, prayer, retreat, corporate worship and Scripture reading and meditation.” (Creech, 158). Fortunately, it is God’s grace that transforms us; but these disciplines allow us to be more easily shaped into Christ-like figures. Let’s not wait until those intense game-speed situations to finally ask “What would Jesus do?” Instead, let’s model ourselves after Jesus by spending more nights praying to God (Luke 6:12), waking up early in the morning (Mark 1:35), practicing solitude (Mark 6:46), and engaging the creator of the universe before the stress of the game of life becomes too much to handle.
Questions to Ponder:
There are many ways we can emulate Jesus. Why might daily prayer and solitude be so important to truly doing what Jesus would do?
Showing up on Sunday to worship and reading one fantasy football devotional each week may be a good start to becoming a Christ follower. What is one thing you can do this week to strengthen your relationship with Jesus?
Pastor Ray is the manager of the Elisha’s Bears (2-4) fantasy football team. He doesn’t like waking up very early in the morning to do anything, but he tries to make reading the Bible App on his phone the first thing he does each day. Sometimes the Fantasy Football App wins out, especially on waiver wire Wednesday. He could definitely spend more of his morning time praying - especially for his terrible fantasy team! He has already prayed asked forgiveness for writing a devotional about a Philadelphia Eagle.
After you have spent time with God, enjoy our latest Fantasy Football Podcast!
