Pray to Win

Pray to Win

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” – 1 Corinthians 15:57

            You’ve heard the expression “play to win.” What does this really mean? It’s a saying we have heard throughout our lives, but maybe you haven’t ever stopped to look more intentionally at those three simple words.  It means to play with a competitive edge. It means to play not just have fun, but to have your head in the game. It means you are going to play with the intent to come out on top.

            I use to be very competitive. When I was younger, everything became a competition among my friends. Whether it was grades in school, goals scored in a soccer game, or even who was taller. If something could have a competitive twist to it, I took on the challenge. As I got older, my competitive nature seemed to just cause unwanted tension in relationships and I realized there were more and more things of which I wasn’t the best.  

Over the years, I have learned to not take myself so seriously and soften my competitive edge. That is however, the edge i have when it comes to the things I care about most. It’s not the success that’s most precious to me, but my family, my friends, the local church and God’s plans to unfold in my lifetime and the generations to come after.  So though I don’t “play to win” these days. I still choose to “pray to win.”

I want to win battles for my children. I want to win battles for my marriage. I want to win battles over depression. I want to win physical battles and mental battles that come my way more and more. The longer I live, the more frequent the battles and the stronger the opponent can get. I want to keep my competitive edge and “pray to win.”