As students, we are often asked questions about our future plans. Whether we are asked about our plans for school, the weekend, or even just the afternoon, they generally aren't that hard to answer. "Oh, I'm going to [this university] and participating in [this sport]." Or, "I'm going to chill with some friends tonight." Recently, though, I found myself answering a question that was a little more serious: “What are your plans for your life?”

Man, this question hit me hard! And the reason it struck me so much was because I thought I had my life all figured out. Now, you may be thinking, "Hey, that's great that she has such plans." I thought so too at first, but then I realized that having my life all planned out wasn't that great.

The context of the verse above indicates a rather materialistic place. Jesus had just addressed being concerned about food, clothing and drink. The issue, though, is greater than “all these things” being added to those who seek and find the Kingdom.

Matt, an FCA student-athlete, was drafted out of high school in the first round of the Major League Baseball draft. He shared an interesting concept with me. He said that during warm-ups, the pro players did something called fake hustle. When running, they would move their arms faster than normal and over-exaggerate their legs up and down, but they were not running faster. From a distance the coaches thought they were hustling and giving 100%, but actually they were faking it.

Recently, I was serving as a course marshal for my school's cross country meet. That basically meant that I stood at a certain place and made sure the runners went the right direction. The high school students had to make three laps, so I saw all of them three times.

One particular runner was fourth-from-last on the first lap. On the second lap, he was last, and I thought there was no way he would even finish. He was struggling to breathe with each step he took. On the final lap, as he approached me, a man from the sidelines joined him and completed the race with him. The man was definitely not dressed to run as he was in street clothes, yet he stayed with the runner to the end. Perhaps without the man running beside him, this runner might not have finished.

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One of the most effective things a coach can do is pray for the players and coaches involved in their program. Typically the sports prayer is for no one to get hurt, and for everyone to do his or her best. Those are good prayers. Today’s verses also give us the confidence to move on to much deeper levels of prayer for those around us—prayers that land in the direct center of God’s will and prayers for the people around us to come into a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus.

A Christ-following coach may be the only Christian with which some players and coaches have contact. As a result, a Christ-following coach may be the only person praying for the salvation of these men and women.

Many times as athletes we get caught up in the competition and forget the reason as to why we are actually competing. Many of the role models today are looked up too because they are full of pride and want to exalt themselves. However, God calls us to a higher standard and demands that we exalt Him and humble ourselves. Just as talked about in John 3:30, “He must become greater; I must become less.”