How YOU can be like LeBron James or Stephen Curry...

“The reason why many fail in spiritual battle is because they wait until the hour of battle to pray. The reason why others succeed is because they have gained their victory on their knees long before the battle came. Anticipate your battles; fight them on your knees…and you will have victory.” R.A. Torrey

Apparently the NBA Finals are going on right now. All I hear people talk about are LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and how horrible the refs are (depending on which team you are for). I'm more of a college basketball fan, so (of course) I cheer for Stephen Curry because I remember him from his days at Davidson College (and, he gives God the glory for everything AND he has a really cute daughter! Did I mention I'm not really into the NBA....). Nevertheless, the series has had my mind on basketball and what all goes into being a professional athlete. They practice probably everyday during the season. Then, they spend their off season conditioning and strength training. There is truly never a break because they must always be at the top of their game...their livelihood depends on it. The goal...when the 4th quarter rolls around, they will still be going strong and will continue to outplay/outlast the opponent, ultimately winning the game. If the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Golden State Warriors didn't practice as often as they did and condition in the off season, they would NOT be in the NBA Finals this year! Laziness will NOT win you any championships!

The same can said about our spiritual life. There is no way that we can sit around not doing anything in the "off season" (a season when life seems to be smooth sailing) and then be prepared to fight battles with Satan when he throws things our way. We must constantly focus on our relationship with God...our Bible study, our prayer life, going to church. The stronger we are in our relationship with Him, the better able we are to find strength in our troubles.

We must "condition" our minds. If, during the off season, we fill our minds with the things of God...scripture, prayer, etc...those are the things that will help us to outplay and outlast the enemy in the battle. If we fill our minds with the junk of the world, we begin to doubt our victory because we are not mentally strong enough to handle it. We must "condition" our prayer life. Prayer is our direct communication with God. The more we do it, the more likely we are to pray God's word effectively into our situation, giving us the Sword of the Spirit to completely take out the enemy.

You play the way you practice. How's your practice going? If it's the 4th quarter...you're down by 1...will you have what it takes to win?? Will you have the strength to fight through and come out victorious?? Practice and conditioning during the off season is not optional. If you treat it that way, you can guarantee you will be beat every time and you will be left laying on the floor trying to catch your breath. So get your game face on and prepare your heart and mind for the spiritual battle...because the season can start at any time!

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13