Pray For Damar Hamlin

After a routine tackle during Monday night’s Bills-Bengals game, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on his back in cardiac arrest. CPR was performed by medical personnel for about 10 minutes until Hamlin was taken to Cincinnati Hospital.

It drove off, but onlookers were there. reported Sean McDermott, Bills head coach, gathered his players onto the field for a communal prayer. Individual players were also praying during the 10 minutes of CPR as both Hamlin and his staff knelt close to him. One Bengals fan attended the game scribbled “Pray for Buffalo #3 Hamlin” A paper sign. The fans of both teams were there in minutes. showed up at Hamlin’s hospital to pray. Players Starting at around The leagueFans, and others All over social media, prayers were offered. We all join them in praying for his body, and soul.

To watch the heart of the man beside you on the field stop beating, as Hamlin’s teammates and competitors did, is to be reminded of the Maker-meeting moment every one of us will encounter. We need to ask for mercy when we are reminded of these reminders. Only the players and God know the content of the prayers offered from the field in Paycor Stadium last night, but I’d guess they prayed for the mercies of healing, comfort, and more time on this Earth, either to serve God or to encounter his grace.

Prayer is a weapon that Christ followers have at their disposal. Prayer is a way to approach God and ask for His help. known He is my God. It is an act in intimacy and communion, a way to offer repentance and receive unmerited Grace. When faced with the threat of tragedy — a symptom of living in a world tainted by our own sin — we quickly remember our constant need for mercy, and it compels us to pray.

In moments like last night, however, it seems it’s not only the adopted children of God He hears those who call out. Someone prompts even people who may doubt God’s existence at one moment to call out for his mercy. Skeptics Love is everywhere mock The offering of “thoughts and prayers” Although they may be silly or ineffectual, their willingness to pray when they are in crisis suggests that deep downThey know its power.

Why? Why? Whether we admit it or not, moments that force us to wrestle with our own mortality are less about facing death and more about facing the reality that we are part of a judgment and redemption narrative far beyond the scope of our brief earthly pilgrimage, and which extends far beyond that pilgrimage’s end.

To repentantly welcome that redemption, recognizing our utter need for it and Christ’s exclusive worthiness to procure it, inspires worshipful gratitude. It is wrong to reject it or ignore it. This is to live a life that rightly incites fear. As we pray for Damar Hamlin’s