Hearing athletes and coaches pray before competition is always interesting. Many times pre-game prayers can be a “rah-rah” talk or desperate plea for a big win. As a true competitor, what is the correct way to pray before entering the heat of battle? The following prayer is fitting for a game, competition, workout, or even practice:

This past winter I was having the best wrestling season of my life. I was physically and mentally strong, and I was able to fight hard. In my excitement about wrestling, I started watching tons of wrestling videos and quite dramatically stopped reading my Bible and doing devotions every morning before school. My life flipped completely from God being No. 1 to wrestling being the only thing I cared about.

Over a period of 2.5 months, I wrestled every day, not missing any practice. Then, God started trying to wake me up to see what I was doing. I got really sick, and then I permanently hurt my back. Still, I wouldn't listen to God; I kept right on ignoring Him.

Back when I was a track athlete, I was blessed to have great coaches who taught me about the need for perseverance and patience throughout the track season. My high school coach used to tell me in meets early in the season, “Right now, you are racing against the clock. Try to be a step faster, and you’re winning. Remember, the race that matters most is the final in League Championships.” My coach understood the big picture and our goals for the season. He sought to build that same sense into me as well so that I could continue progressing, improving each day to reach the ultimate goal. Now that I’m a coach myself (women’s volleyball), I have reflected on this lesson often.

In 1954, a World War II veteran turned college coach named Don McClanen sat across the table from Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Branch Rickey. The meeting was the result of a letter-writing campaign in which McClanen was seeking face-to-face encounters with Christian athletes—the people he considered to be heroes.

The five-minute meeting between the two men dragged on for several hours and eventually birthed a revolutionary organization called the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Rickey lent his name to fund-raising efforts while McClanen oversaw administrative efforts to get the ministry off the ground.

One of the worst feelings in sports is losing after having a big lead. Most of us have been a part of a game in which we got ahead early and then watched a victory slip away. We never see it coming because we become so comfortable with the position we’ve gained that we assume we’re not vulnerable and we slack off. Maybe we play around with the ball in the backfield, or we slow our pace. We might even quit completely or forget some of the fundamentals of the game because of how blind we’ve become.

Legendary University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball coach Pat Summitt was diagnosed with early onset dementia. The 59-year-old, winningest college basketball coach of all time, made the announcement and would attempt to continue coaching as long as she could.

It was a shocking announcement not only to UT fans, but to sports fans in general. Summitt had always seemed so indestructible. But even the strongest of men and women still face challenges in life that are common to everyone.

In any sport, when a team has the upper hand whether through having better players or a big lead in the score, their coach will often encourage them by saying, “We play to win.” So often, teams that have the upper hand will play down to the level of their competition. Instead of playing to win, they start playing to not lose. In those times, they will often let the competition come back and, many times, beat them.