31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If, in the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the dead do not rise, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!"
33 Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits."
34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
Jesus has issued us the invitation to enter into a relationship with Him and to follow Him with our whole hearts. Prayer is an important element of our fellowship with Almighty God. Hebrews 4 states:
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
It's certainly incredible news - Buffalo Bills defensive back Damar Hamlin has left a Cincinnati hospital, returned to a hospital in Buffalo, and then returned to his home, just over a week after the shocking incident on the football field, in which he went into cardiac arrest after a seemingly routine tackle. The Buffalo News had reported:
Hamlin, who has received an outpouring of support from across the nation since he collapsed in cardiac arrest early in a game Jan. 2, was released Monday morning from intensive care at University of Cincinnati Medical Center and was flown back to Buffalo, where he was transferred to Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute to continue his treatment.
"He is currently listed in stable condition and continues to make significant progress in his recovery," Kaleida Health said in a statement Monday afternoon. "The goal of the transfer to Buffalo General Medical Center/Gates Vascular Institute is to get him closer to home for further evaluation, recovery and eventually discharge and rehabilitation."
Hamlin has certainly been active on social media lately, according to the story. Dr. Timothy Pritts at the hospital said following the Bills' game on Sunday, "When the opening kickoff was run back, he jumped up and down, got out of his chair, set I think every alarm off in the ICU in the process," adding, "But he was fine. It was just an appropriate reaction to very exciting play. So, he very much enjoyed it, and enjoys the support from everyone."
And, apparently, Damar grasps just a bit of the gift he's been given. The Buffalo News article said:
"Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling," he posted on Twitter just before 3:30 p.m. Monday. "The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more."
"Bigger than football!" is how he put it.
What the world has observed since that night of January 2nd has certainly been a moving experience, with a stirring devotion to prayer. One of the first NFL games since the incident was in Jacksonville, where players from the Jaguars and the Tennessee Titans gathered at midfield to pray.
And, expressions of prayer have been commonplace over the past 9 days. WORLD Magazine, on its website, did a nice summary of some of the prayer. The article states:
Almost immediately after the incident, ESPN showed Bills head coach Sean McDermott gathering his players and coaches together to pray for Hamlin. Newscasters and, fans, and players from across the NFL followed suit on social media.
A sampling of the prayers offered up:Retired NFL players Tim Tebow, Larry Fitzgerald, and Derrick Deese offered up their prayers, too. So did sports figures from outside the NFL, including Doc Rivers, the head coach of the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers, and Charlie Partridge, the defensive line coach at the University of Pittsburgh, where Hamlin played college football.
- “Praying hard... Please be okay man,” Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes tweeted.
- “My prayers and thoughts go out to @HamlinIsland the Hamlin family,” tweeted Higgins, the player who collided with Hamlin. “I’m praying that you pull through bro.”
- “Oftentimes people watching forget what players risk on Sundays,” said Houston Texans offensive lineman Scott Quessenberry, whose older brother David is a teammate of Hamlin’s. “Praying hard for Damar Hamlin and his family. God speed.”
- “Still speechless. Prayers to DHam and his family,” Bengals safety Jessie Bates III tweeted. “Please God be with them! Please.”
- “Father God, I pray that Damar Hamlin is OK and here with us,” New York Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner tweeted. “I also ask that he have a speedy recovery mentally & physically God; In Jesus name … Amen.”
And, as I discussed on The Meeting House last week, former NFL quarterback now ESPN commentator Dan Orlovsky spontaneously led a prayer on the air. A CBN.com article published the text of that prayer, including these words:
...We just want to pray, truly come to You and pray for strength for Damar, for healing for Damar, for comfort for Damar, to be with his family, to give them peace. If we didn't believe that prayer … worked, we wouldn't ask this of You, God. I believe in prayer, we believe in prayer, and we lift up Damar Hamlin's name in Your name, Amen."
As perhaps you know, the Buffalo Bills won the first game they played after the incident involving Damar Hamlin. In fact, as Sports Spectrum reported:
Wearing a No. 3 patch on his jersey in honor of teammate Damar Hamlin, Nyheim Hines took the opening kickoff — Buffalo’s first play since Hamlin collapsed on the field in Cincinnati — and raced 96 yards for a touchdown.Quarterback Josh Allen, in a quote from a video on the Bills' website, said: "It was just spiritual...I was just going around to my teammates saying, ‘God’s real.’ You can’t draw that one up, write that one up any better.”
The article included more quotes from the Bills' star:
“God is good. He really is. I just urge everybody to keep praying for (Hamlin),” Allen told CBS Sports’ Tracy Wolfson after the game. “He’s in good spirits. Hopefully he got to watch the game. I just hope he can feel the love and the emotion that everybody here in this stadium had for him. One of the more surreal stadium feelings I’ve ever been in. It was special.”
Reflecting on everything his team’s been through in the past week, head coach Sean McDermott praised God for the ways He’s been at work in such difficult circumstances.
“I’m a man of faith, and it’s just fun to watch and be around a good group of people that work so hard towards a common goal,” McDermott said in his postgame press conference. “And they care so much in this case about Damar and all their teammates. Like I said, God is so good, and I believe — obviously an unfortunate situation — but God has shown Himself through this situation in so many ways.”
For the coach, according to a previous Sports Spectrum article, written in 2020, he believes God brought him to Buffalo for a reason and he recognizes that the Lord can help him fulfill that responsibility. And, in a situation like the Bills have been walking through, it certainly does appear he has had the opportunity to provide spiritual leadership. The article included this quote from an FCA Sports Talk:
“I believe that God’s plan prevails, and God had a plan, He ordained this to happen for me to come to Buffalo with my family,” McDermott said. “I mean, fit is important, right? This is a blue jeans, work boots style community, and that’s me, that’s how I grew up. And so God had this plan, and He had it planned since I was born, to bring me here and my family for a reason. I still, at the end of the day, am waiting to see, as we continue to move forward, His plan continue to unfold for us in Buffalo … I just know God’s in control.”
Columnist Joshua Arnold writing for the Washington Stand said moments like this prayer are the only thing appropriate in times of crisis.
"This moment demonstrates that Christianity still maintains incredible cultural influence in America, despite decades of routine mockery and secular infiltration. When unexpected, unexplained tragedy strikes, ordinary citizens and influential people across America's institutions alike turn to prayer," he wrote.
"In matters of life and death, finding distraction in an entertaining ball game is inappropriate, insignificant quarreling is inappropriate, emotionless detachment is inappropriate. What is appropriate in a crisis is prayer, as thousands of Americans have recognized this week," Arnold concluded.
Only God can know what He is doing in Damar Hamlin's life, as well as those impacted by what occurred on the field last Monday night. But, I do think He is doing what He does best - showing His love and bringing glory to His name. Jesus is being lifted up; and as He Himself said, if He is lifted up, He will draw all people to Him.
So, one can surmise that there is a renewed emphasis in prayer - it has certainly been a focus in times of crisis. But, we can continue to remember that public prayer may not necessarily lead to a private walk with Jesus Christ, the One through whom we can really come into the presence of God. So, He is certainly issuing an invitation - the question is: will people respond? And will that response be a long-term expression rather than a short-term demonstration?
Fact is, God is inviting us every single day to come into His presence, to walk with Him, to serve Him with our whole hearts. Those of us who have been born again have experienced the power of a changed life through salvation. But, we have to decide each day if we are going to walk in that and surrender to God rather than attempt to live life on our own. Prayer is a wonderful conduit through which we communicate and commune with our God - He is calling, He's inviting, it's in store for us. The question again - for each of us: will we respond?
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