In the face of evil, hardship, and suffering, Christians should never forget about the impact of doing a simple action – like praying in public.
This is illustrated by the positive reaction to ESPN commentator Dan Orlovsky’s offering of a prayer for Buffalo Bills player Damar Hamlin who was hospitalized last week after suffering a cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football.
“I heard the Buffalo Bills organization say that we believe in prayer, and maybe this is not the right thing to do, but it’s just on my heart and I want to pray for Damar Hamlin right now. I’m going to do it out loud, I’m going to close my eyes and bow my head, and I’m just going to pray for him,” Orlovksy said on air.
“God, we come to you in these moments that we don’t understand, that are hard, because we believe that you’re God, and coming to you and praying to you has impact,” Orlovsky continued.
While public prayer may draw persecution, the good that comes from it is worth it.
“This warms my heart! @DanOrlovsky7, @ESPN analyst & former football player, cared enough for Damar Hamlin to pray for him right there on national TV,” Franklin Graham tweeted. “He wasn’t afraid to say “I believe in prayer!” I do too Dan—thanks for setting an example for others to follow.”
“I just find that rather refreshing in an affluent culture that has so much that we tend to ignore God that something like this happens and it reminds us of our own mortality and we begin to talk about praying and talking about God… It speaks to the yearning deep inside of us,” Focus on the Family’s Jim Daly told Fox News.
Hamlin, the Bills’ player, has improved his condition in the hospital. His breathing tube has been removed and he has regained his ability to communicate and has even sent out tweets.
“Prayer works,” Orlovsky tweeted in response to the news.
Hamlin himself praised the unity of prayer in his own tweet, saying,
“The love is felt, & extremely real. No matter race or religion everybody coming together in prayer!”
