A Sports Prayer Guide (Free Printable)

Back when I was in school, I never attended a game that didn’t begin with a word of prayer and the playing of the National Anthem. Football games, track meets, tennis matches, basketball, soccer, or swimming — they paused for a moment before every sporting event to ask for God’s blessing and protection upon the players and spectators alike.

Sadly, those formalities have now largely fallen by the wayside. But even if the announcer no longer leads them crowd in prayer, they can’t stop us from praying in our hearts. And this free printable sports prayer guide is a great place to start:

A Prayer for God’s Blessing on Sporting Events

LORD, we pray that You would graciously help these athletes…

Stay safe

Thank you for the healthy bodies you’ve given these players, O God. Protect and preserve them from illness and injury. We pray you would keep them strong, fit, & well-hydrated.
(3 John 1:2; Psalm 37:23-24)

Practice patience

Cultivate in these athletes a spirit of self-discipline and perseverance. Teach them to be patient, both with themselves and with teammates and coaches.
(1 Corinthians 9:24-27; Proverbs 14:29)

Overcome obstacles

Help these athletes see obstacles as opportunities to learn better methods & improve performance. Give them worthy opponents. Guard them against discouragement.
(James 1:2-4; Proverbs 27:17)

Respect the rules

Remind these athletes of the importance of honesty and fair play. Cultivate personal integrity & help them perform in a way that brings glory and honor to You.
(Proverbs 10:9; 11:1-3; 20:23; 1 Corinthians 10:31 )

Take turns

LORD, teach these athletes to encourage one another and to value the contribution of their fellow athletes. May they resist the urge to hog the limelight. Remind them to work as a team.
(1 Corinthians 12:14-17)

Show sportsmanship

Win or lose, help these athletes do it with grace and humility. May they be quick to share the credit and slow to make excuses or cast blame. Teach them to be good sports.
(Proverbs 16:18-19)

And that’s it. It’s pretty easy to remember, don’t you think? S – P – O – R – T – S: stay safe – practice patience – overcome obstacles – respect the rules – take turns – show sportsmanship.

For a free printable version of this sports prayer guide, just click on the image below:

More Printable Prayer Guides

You will find many more prayer guides you can download individually for free by following this link: Free Printable Prayer Guides.

Or you can save time by investing in a copy of my Pretty Prayer Print Pack and then download a whole bundle of resources in a single click, including all our most popular prayer guides plus prayer lists and diaries, prayer-themed coloring pages, prayer cards, and beautiful printable artwork suitable for framing. Several of the resources in this collection are not available anywhere else.