Chael Sonnen Prayer Project Update #1

So far, I have prayed for Chael Sonnen for a total of eight sessions.  This month, my project got off to a rough start, but I will finish strong.  I'm under a lot of stress, but my faith in Christ will get me through it.  I discovered that he managed to get a fight with Shogun, which is pretty interesting.  While I'm sure God can use that to reach him, I'm not certain that He will.  After all, it's not nearly as shocking as Miesha Tate being selected as the new coach for "The Ultimate Fighter."  I believe that some other means will be used, although God is not limited by my own understanding.  Tonight, I prayed that Sonnen would reconcile with the people of Brazil.  While a lot of what he said was mostly pre-fight hype for his rematch with Anderson Silva, I felt that he crossed the line with many of his remarks.  If he does become a Christian, it will be a great witness for him to seek forgiveness for it.  In the meantime, I will focus on first things first: his salvation. 

June Celebrity Prayer Project: Chael Sonnen!

                                      

When you are the greatest promoter in the UFC, they have one name for you: Chael P. Sonnen!  I used to consider him the greatest heel in MMA.  Then he turned face when he agreed to fight Jon Jones on short notice at UFC 151 after Dan Henderson got injured.  The fight got rescheduled for UFC 159 after UFC 151 was cancelled (just google the event to find out why).  Nonetheless, I became a huge fan of his after he stepped up not only for that, but to coach on "The Ultimate Fighter."  This month, I will pray that the "American Gangster" steps up to accept Jesus Christ as his personal savior, so that he can have eternal life.  Chael Sonnen!  Find the Lord!  While you can!

(Photo from Sherdog.com: http://www.sherdog.com/news/articles/Chael-Sonnen-In-His-Own-Words-36112)

Miesha Tate Prayer Project Completed!

I finished praying for Miesha Tate's salvation last Friday night.  I focused on asking God to use her experience on "The Ultimate Fighter" to lead her to Jesus.  I also prayed for reconciliation between her and Ronda Rousey.  Is that a long shot?  Sure is.  However, after seeing Bret Hart and Shawn Michaels reconcile, I believe that anything is possible.

Tate Vs. Rousey On "The Ultimate Fighter": An Answer To Prayer?

Earlier today on Yahoo, I saw a headline regarding the Tate-Rousey feud.  After reading the article, I was amazed to discover that former Strikeforce champ Miesha Tate will now be coaching against UFC champ Ronda Rousey.  Long story short, Cat Zingano, who was supposed to coach, injured her knee and had to bow out.  Dana White called Tate to fill in and she said yes.  Since the biggest grudge match in MMA today is now going to happen, UFC fans (including myself) are ecstatic.  However, considering how the events unfolded, I'm wondering if God is using this to accomplish something much greater. 

After all, I saw the match between Zingano and Tate.  Zingano won fair and square, and if Kate Winslow hadn't stopped that bout, Tate wouldn't have a face left.  In an instant, Tate lost a chance to coach and get a title shot on the first ever season of "The Ultimate Fighter" to have female coaches.  However, now, she miraculously gets reinstated as a coach and title challenger in one fell swoop.  Tate is an elite fighter, but there is no way she can claim that she earned this.  God gave it to her as a gift.  I truly believe that Jesus will use this to lead her to Him.  Am I saying that my prayers were the only factor here?  Absolutely not.  Do I believe that God has listened to them?  Oh Heaven Yeah! 

Now, obviously, I was not praying for Zingano to get injured.  I'm a huge fan of "Alpha" and think that she is a humble and classy fighter.  I loved her brutal honesty after the match where she admitted that she was scared to death of Tate and really looked up to her.  Nor am I saying that God gets enjoyment out of letting athletes get their joints blown out.  That simply is not true.  Sometimes, though, God allows bad things to happen so that His work can be seen in the lives of people.  I believe that it was His will that Tate would get this coaching spot, and I also believe that He will use it to reveal Himself to Tate.  For that reason, I prayed for fifteen minutes at church tonight that He would use "The Ultimate Fighter" to lead her to salvation.  As I was praying, Vitor Belfort and Benson Henderson came to mind as well.  I prayed that those two Christian fighters would have an impact on Tate as well.  At any rate, Jesus Christ has shown that He has been listening to my prayers, and I will no longer doubt Him as I continue to pray on the behalf of MMA fighters.

For more on how Tate became a coach on "The Ultimate Fighter", see the following link to Yahoo!Sports:  

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/mma--ronda-rousey-shocked-as-miesha-tate-replaces-an-injured-cat-zingano-on-ufc-s--tuf--show-233340082.html

Miesha Tate Prayer Update #3

I prayed all of last night to get caught up on my prayers for Miesha Tate's salvation.  It was rough: I kept getting distracted and doozed off several times.  I do not recommend marathon prayer sessions for people who are just starting off.  In my opinion, it's better off to consistently pray for a short time period a day, then increase it as your spiritual muscles grow.  At any rate, I felt led to pray about her relationship with Bryan Caraway this time.  Now, listen, I don't know either of these people and have no idea whether or not they have a good relationship.  In fact, their dating life is none of my business.  That being said, it is foolish to think that Miesha's boyfriend won't have an influence on whether or not she finds God.  For that reason, I prayed that God would work it out so that Miesha would be led to Christ, regardless of whatever happens to her relationship with Bryan.  Who knows?  Maybe Bryan will get saved, too.  I will just have to pray and have faith. 

Miesha Tate Prayer Update #2

I just prayed for Miesha Tate for an hour to put myself back on schedule.  I shifted my focus to asking God to help her heal physically from her match with Cat Zingano.  I also asked him to help her recover emotionally, since getting upset in a bout with such high stakes had to be an extremely disappointing experience.  For some reason, "Temari's Theme" from the Naruto soundtrack kept playing in the back of my mind and I was imagining myself praying in the voice of Chester Benington from Linkin Park for a bit.  However, that probably had more to do with the fact that I am a rabid Linkin Park/Naruto fan (although I am giving up the latter for reasons I will reveal later). 

I did get some bad news earlier today, though.  I won't get into all the gritty details, but suffice it to say that it involves my living situation.  I was blindsided with it after my afternoon jog and wasn't too happy, although I kept my emotions in check.  I don't think it's a coincidence that it happened the month that I decided to get right with God and dedicate myself more fervently to Jesus Christ.  Especially since this happened only a couple of days after I lost my job.  Nonetheless, God has shown that He is still looking out for me, since He gave me my old job teaching martial arts again.  While I do anticipate more trials as I pray for the salvation of MMA fighters, I know that Christ will support me through these hardships. 

Rebirth!

God has told me for months that my 28th year would be life-changing.  I have a great new church, new friends, a new martial art to master and everything is getting better.  The darkness that began in December of 2010 has finally started to lift and the Holy Spirit is showing me what I need to do for my future.

At the same time, I am remaining vigilant.  Without a doubt, Satan has gotten wind that 2013 is the year of my rebirth.  The recent spiritual ambush which I experienced confirmed it.  Luckily, my mentor and a local pastor came beside me to help me survive it.  Christ listened to their prayers and rescued me from the evil one.

However, there is one more battle that I must face.  Even if Satan were to be chained up in the bottomless pit right now, I have one foe who will not be defeated so easily: myself.  Is my flesh more powerful than the devil?  Absolutely not.  Nonetheless, Satan can only be in one place at one time, whereas I am stuck with my sinful nature until the day I die.  Starting this year, I will daily put that nature to death.  Starting this year, I am reborn!