Nick Saban
Their opponent on the football field that day carried the nickname Dawgs (the Georgia Bulldogs), but the Alabama Tide were considered the underdogs for the 2018 playoffs. Pregame, Coach Nick Saban for the Tide primed and pumped his team.
“Focus on the things that have made us good all year,” he instructed, “which is discipline to execute, do your job, play with relentless effort and toughness.”*
Saban’s advice applies to many endeavors in life, even some that may surprise us—like prayer.
But isn’t it true we need discipline to execute and relentless effort and toughness to persevere in our pleas before God? What we may lack are motivation and passion.
In addition, Satan’s cohorts adeptly suggest excuses like:
- “God is all-powerful; he’s in control of all things. What good are your pitiful prayers going to do?”
- “You’ve prayed a long time for some things and nothing has happened. Your prayers are obviously ineffective.”
- “You’re too busy to pray. Let the elderly saints with nothing to do take care of the praying.”
Like Saban who inspired his team, there are numerous spiritual coaches–pastors and authors–who would prime our prayer-lives with such reminders as:
- “Time spent in prayer will yield more than that given to work. Prayer alone gives work its worth and its success. Prayer opens the way for God Himself to do His work in us and through us”—Andrew Murray (1828-1917).
- “A praying man can never be very miserable, whatever his condition be, for he has the ear of God; the Spirit within to indite [encourage, inspire], a Friend in heaven to present, and God Himself to receive his desires as a Father”—William Bridge (1600-1670).
- [Prayer] “turns ordinary mortals into men of power. It brings power. It brings fire. It brings rain. It brings life. It brings God”—Samuel Chadwick (1860-1932).
Still other coaches pump up our spirits for prayer with reminders of the blessings that result—blessings like:
HOPEFUL EXPECTATION
“Each time, before you intercede, be quiet first and worship God in his glory. Think of what he can do and how he delights to hear the prayers of his redeemed people. Think of your place and privilege in Christ, and expect great things!—Andrew Murray
HOLY ENERGY
“As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labor of prayer”—Charles Spurgeon, Morning by Morning, 287.
TRUE PERSPECTIVE
“Prayer brings perspective, shows the big picture, gets you out of the weeds, reorients you to where you really are” (Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, 130).
STRONG CONFIDENCE
“Prayer is the way to experience a powerful confidence that God is handling our lives well, that our bad things will turn out for the good, our good things cannot be taken from us, and the best is yet to come”—Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, 73.
GLOBAL SIGNIFICANCE
“Herbert Butterfield, the Oxford historian of modern history, is convinced that what Christians do in prayer is the most significant factor in the shaping of history—more significant than war and diplomacy, more significant than technology and art”—Eugene Peterson, Under the Unpredictable Plant,98.
DIVINE PURPOSE
“A praying saint performs far more havoc among the unseen forces of darkness than we have the slightest notion of”—Oswald Chambers (1874-1917).
INTIMATE CONNECTION WITH GOD
“Unceasing prayer can grow to be something we do not because of discipline but because of friendship. Desire. It’s where we’re headed if we’ll let him take us there”—Sara Hagerty, Unseen, 227.
DEEPEST JOY
“The key that unlocks the deepest joy of any life: secret prayer. Whispers with God”—Sara Hagerty, Unseen, 201.
INEXPLICABLE PEACE
“Never worry about anything. But in every situation let God know what you need in prayers and requests while giving thanks. Then God’s peace, which goes beyond anything we can imagine, will guard your thoughts and emotions through Christ Jesus”—The Apostle Paul, Philippians 4:6-7, GNT.
Nick Saban primed and pumped the Alabama Tide to a victory that day in 2018. They won, 26-23.
May the spiritual coaches quoted here today inspire us toward victory in prayer.
* https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xDeK9EjSgfQ
Images credits: http://www.picryl.com; http://www.pickpik.com; http://www.dailyverses.net; http://www.heartlight.org; http://www.canva.com; http://www.pickpik.com; http://www.canva.com.
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Nick Saban was, and always will be, a legend in Alabama. Of course, I’m a GA fan, and I’m glad our head coach, Kirby Smart, was previously a coach under Saban’s tutelage. He learned so much! I love how you’ve featured other “coaches” here to inspire us to enter the world of prayer, seeking God’s presence with the same energy, determination and dedication, Nancy. I know you’ve cheered me on with your words here. Blessings!
I’m honored to be a cheerleader for you, Martha! (I’m also glad that the Tide reference did not injure your Bulldog sensitivities! 😁)
Encouraging quotes Nancy. Thank you
Keep Looking Up ^ … His Best is Yet to Come!
So glad you found encouragement here, Fred. You’re welcome!
Now that my life has slowed considerably and I have more time to do so, I’ve been praying a lot more. lt might have to do with the long list of family, friends and the condition of the world. I have learned to treasure my time with God. I’m confident that he has everything under control. Even the things we feel we should be controlling. We should pray 🙏🏻 in the moment. We have immediate access to our God.
Thank you for your prayers, Kathy, that include the condition of our world. That quote from Eugene Peterson about the significance of such prayers offers us great encouragement to continue! I too greatly enjoy spending more time with God each morning now that I’m retired. And isn’t it comforting to know that we can turn to him at any moment of the day or night?!
Amen!
I am overwhelmed today with the knowledge that we can bring ALL of our concerns to the God who created the universe. More than that–he WANTS us to bring them to Him and leave them at His feet. Our God is indeed an awesome God.
It IS overwhelming to think on our God’s gracious attentiveness and compassion, inviting us to bring our concerns to him and let HIM handle them (1 Peter 5:7). What a loving Father he is!
The quotes about prayer are powerful and remind us of how essential prayer is every minute of every day. I particularly liked the quote by Eugene Peterson. Wonderful post, Nancy! 🙂
I too found great encouragement from that quote, Nancy. Too often we think our prayers are insignificant against the world’s monumental problems. Not so! And to think that our prayers can play a part in history–what a privilege God gives us!
Love your spiritual coaching, Nancy! And this quote is so good, ““A praying man can never be very miserable, whatever his condition be, for he has the ear of God; the Spirit within to indite [encourage, inspire], a Friend in heaven to present, and God Himself to receive his desires as a Father”—William Bridge (1600-1670).”
Yes, let’s stay in shape! Thanks for a delightful post!
So glad you found this collection of quotes to be worthwhile, Wynne. Each one certainly inspired and primed me afresh for the task of prayer. And knowing that others want to stay in shape as well provides even more encouragement. Thank you, Wynne!
all these quotes are so inspiring and encouraging. Reminds me that often we think the day to day coming to the Lord is minor yet it does build muscles to celebrate the good times and stay strong in the challenges.
Amen, Jean. God has granted us more power through prayer than we think! We do well to keep those spiritual muscles strong.
‘Prayer brings perspective…’. Sound words…much of how we handle life is hinged on the lens through which we are looking.
Amen, RH. I want to look through the lens of faith in our all-powerful God! I know you do too.
What a great collection of quotes about prayer! I like thinking of them as coaches.
Thank you, Barbara. We’re so blessed these days to have access to many wonderful spiritual coaches, who have written over the centuries.
Using a football analogy to paint a picture of prayer is genius! All the quotes you used remind me of how powerful prayer is in every area of life. But it also makes me realize we need to spend more time in prayer, not just individually, but corporately, and not just rote prayers, but prayers that lift our eyes and hearts to God. This was awesome, my friend.
Praise God you found these quotes meaningful, Dayle. Sometimes our prayer lives need a bit of resuscitation. I found these quotes to offer just that.
Yes, Nancy yes. Prayer is allowing the Lord do what he does in eternity right now.
Gary Avants Forbear Productions * *garyavants66@gmail.com garyavants66@gmail.com
It’s a wonderful privilege God gives us to be a part of his work through prayer. I heard this illustration long ago: our prayers are a part of God’s work, just like a child’s hand on his daddy’s tools is a part of the father’s work.
The Spurgeon quote about running resonates with me. When I run – especially outside – it allows for a kind of prayer in motion, reflecting on the gifts that surround me. It’s one of many reasons “Chariots of Fire” is a favorite movie. If you saw it you know one of the leads was a pastor who “ran for God”. I’ve always thought Saban was a coach with the right mindset; one who knew how to turn boys into men. Saban protects his personal life but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn he is a man of faith.
I agree, the outdoors offers so much sensory stimuli prompting us to praise God. Perhaps you’ve read here before what Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishing. calls the outdoors: God’s living room. I love that! Such a mindset provides even more inducement for praise!
So very true. Prayer is our most powerful weapon.
Amen to that, Anna (Ephesians 6:18)!
THIS is what I needed today!
STRONG CONFIDENCE
“Prayer is the way to experience a powerful confidence that God is handling our lives well, that our bad things will turn out for the good, our good things cannot be taken from us, and the best is yet to come”—Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, 73.
It seems that for every blessing I receive from the Lord, Satan throws discouraging events to take my focus from my Savior.
I pray and pray for resolution of the negative events; it will be resolved all in His time. I am being taught to have more patience and trust.
I learn a lot from your blog, Nancy.
Patience and trust! Sometimes all it takes to recalibrate our spirits is a breath prayer like, “I am trusting you, my loving, sovereign Savior.” The hard part for me is remembering to do so before that dark cloud of despair has a chance to grow. But God is working on me; I do see improvement–hallelujah!
Nancy, as I looked at your post, Philippians 4:8 quickly came to mind – ‘Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’
I love when God does that.
Happy Tuesday, dear one.
Oh yes–such a great verse to prime our thinking and set our thoughts on the right track. Thank you for adding it to the conversation, Linda!
Nancy, I appreciate how you offered a message of prayer’s link to our Father. He uses many voices to encourage this fruitful journey of faith.
I’m so thankful for many voices of encouragement–the bloggers I follow, the books I read, the podcasts I listen to, etc. We’re better and stronger together than traveling this journey of faith alone.