The overlap of sports and prayer is not limited to emergency situations. Witness during this baseball season the ubiquitous signs behind home plate proclaiming the theology of the gospel John. The Miami Dolphins routinely invite different clergy to give invocations prior to all home game. The faith of athletes was not always this public. Hubbard gives the testimony and explanations of the athletes themselves which range from a method of coping with the strain and pressure of sports to thanking the Almighty for the opportunity to maximize physical attributes.
Prayer is divided into several categories.
Petition - asking the Almighty to change the course of events in our favor. Thanksgiving - there is a lot to be thankful for when inspite of pushing the body to extremes in athletics, it still works. A catcher blocking a slide into home plate with his still whole body, has much to give thanks for. But in religion, confession is supposed to precede repentance, which is completed when one does not commit the same offense again at the next opportunity. I see a lot of repeat spiking, holding, and trashtalking from even the most vocal of athlete believers.