Maybe 2023 is going to be a brilliant year.
We are only a few days in and an amazing thing has happened: Dan Orlovsky, an announcer on ESPN, prayed to God on a live TV Broadcast.
Yes, you read that correctly.
He prayed, “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. We’re sad, we’re angry. We want answers but some things are unanswerable. We just want to pray, truly come to you and pray for strength for Damar, for healing for Damar, for comfort for Damar. Be with his family to give them peace. If we didn’t believe that prayer didn’t work we wouldn’t ask this of you God. I believe in prayer. We believe in prayer. We lift up Damar Hamlin’s name in your name. Amen.”
Now that’s a prayer that would make any pastor proud. I can only hope that my confirmation students grow up to pray like this. And to have it happen on one of the most liberal and woke TV networks is something that I still can’t quite process. Or perhaps, it’s the fact that the two cohosts with him debated beforehand whether it was right to pray on live TV and, even so, they answered in the affirmative. They urged him to pray!
Strange stuff. Halleluiah!
But even more important is what I think this says about our culture’s fear of death and dying. What happened to Damar Hamlin has freaked people out. People can support killing babies all day along by defending abortion but the moment a football player, who makes lots of money and is the pinnacle of worldly success, drops unconscious on a football field and is rushed away in an ambulance in critical condition…. well, even secular people and secular TV networks start getting religious really fast.
While I have also prayed for Damar Hamlin, I am also giving thanks to God for miracles like what happened on ESPN and, while I know nothing about the personal faith life of Dan Orlovsky, I am proud of him for showing such courage.
I’ve always loved the fact that for Christians God has made every moment an opportunity for us to do what He created us to do: To let our light shine. To be the image of God in this world. May God embolden us all to be a little more like Dan Orlovsky, willing to obey our Lord who said, “Let your light shine before men, so that they might see your good deeds and give glory to your Father in Heaven.” Let’s praise God for moments like this and rejoice that there is still hope for the gospel. There is still hope that sinners will see the truth and seek the Lord while He may be found.
O Lord, open my lips... 