Coaches' Wives Unite ~ Beijing 2008
by Rebecca Carter

“After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…” (Revelation 7:9, NASB).

Can you imagine? What a vision. It’s hard to grasp the enormity of this verse. But if there is one event that could embody that passage—one that gathers people from all nations, tribes and tongues in an earth-sized magnitude—it is the Olympics, a global event like no other.

People from all around the world assemble in one place, for one goal: to represent their nation and take home the gold! Amazing stories emerge from the Olympics, from the unity and, of course, the events themselves.

As a coach’s wife, you get it. You get the importance and thrill of competition. It is one of the central themes of your life. With that in mind, you understand as well as anyone the excitement, the importance, the pressure and the challenges that these Olympic athletes and coaches and their families will face this summer. In fact, many of you reading this column may be personally tied to the Games. Maybe you know an athlete competing or a coach on the sidelines. Maybe you know someone who is traveling to China specifically to serve and to minister. Either way, you undoubtedly understand the excitement, challenge and dramatic dynamics awaiting those traveling to Beijing.

What we must also realize is that these Olympics provide an amazing opportunity for us to stand together in prayer. Not only can we stand in agreement for the protection, favor and strength of the athletes and coaches competing, but we also can seize the opportunity to ask for the nations.

This summer, FCA is issuing a challenge to Christian coaches’ wives from across the nation to stand in the gap and pray. Pray for the safety and strength of those competing and serving, for the protection and favor of those athletes and coaches who wear the banner of Christ, and for those who have never heard the name of Jesus or given their hearts to Him.

As we look forward to the greatest sporting event in the world, we challenge you to join your hearts together in agreement and to pray on behalf of the 2008 Olympic Games knowing that one day we will stand with the multitudes from all nations, tribes and tongues before the throne. We will lay our wreaths of victory at His feet, and it will be our eternal joy that “... at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11, NIV).