Atlanta Hawks point guard Jeremy Lin has revealed that this year, he's decided to focus on becoming "desperate" for God — and has developed a greater thirst for prayer, worship, and Scripture as a result.
In a recent email sent to fans, Lin said that as 2019 begins, he's been challenged to trust in God — and not on his own understanding.
"I feel God has been really pushing my heart to become more and more DESPERATE for Him," he said. "Honestly, in my opinion, the more desperate and helpless I am, the more space I give God to work through me."
Lin admitted that one of the natural byproducts of success on the court or in life "is that I can get comfortable or reliant on myself."
"But this concept of being so so desperate for God every day and leaning not on my own understanding (or talents, or habits, or 'normal' ways of doing things) has been something I've been focusing on," he said. "As a result, I've been challenging myself to delve more deeply into worship, praise and prayer."
Some small habits Lin said he's adopted include finding time in the morning to pray gratitude for a few things, pushing himself to pray whenever anything comes up in his daily life, and getting back to using his prayer journal more consistently.
"Hope that sparks a conviction or encouragement in you guys as well," he said.
The 30-year-old athlete, who has played for a total of seven NBA teams, went on to ask for prayer for the current NBA season as it approaches its mid-way point.
"We've been playing much better basketball as of late, so prayer that our team would continue to build the right way and play unselfish basketball," he said. "Please pray for opportunities for breakthrough on and off the court as well. I felt like in this season, I needed to invest into 2-3 people more deeply either through evangelism or mentorship."
Lin revealed that recently, he had the opportunity to share the Gospel with several people God placed in his life: "So prayer that these relationships would flourish and that at the end, both me and my friends would have found a deeper joy for Scripture and deeper sanctification in our lives."
The athlete asked fans to pray for "guidance" when it comes to his charitable endeavors, adding: "God has miraculously opened up many doors to me globally, but it's very difficult at times to sort through the available opportunities and choose the right ones."
"Please pray for unity and guidance for my business team as we have some big decisions coming up," he said. "They all mostly center around how I will spend my summer and what endeavors I invest time into with the goal of maximizing my platform and brand for God!! Exciting but daunting stuff."
Finally, Lin asked for prayer amid the current political landscape: "I also want to pray for solidarity in society, which is much-needed," he said. "As we celebrate Black History Month, please pray that our world takes steps forward to live out the inclusive love of Jesus Christ."
In an earlier email sent to his digital prayer group, Lin said the book "Prayer" by Pastor Tim Keller, the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City, has helped improve his prayer life and intimacy with Christ.
"I'm going to keep reading this book and wrestling with the concepts, but continued prayer that conversation with God would be second-nature," the athlete said. "If anything happens in my day or if I interact with someone, that immediately I would go to prayer instinctually and just converse with God."
The athlete also said that recently, he realized that to experience God more abundantly in prayer, he simply needs to "come and connect with God."
"I don't need to pray in church lingo or with the most extravagant vocabulary," he said. "I just need to come as I am because He loves me as I am."
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