Former NFL player David Pollack is sharing the reason behind this surprising prayer.
“Here’s one thing I tell people,” he said while appearing on the “That Sounds Fun” podcast. “I’ve never prayed for my kids’ protection, ever. I pray for my kids’ resilience, because it’s not if, it’s when, right?”
He continued, “I’ll catch myself sometimes when I’m praying in the mornings for them, and I’m like, ‘No, no, no, I’m not praying for protection, God, but I just want them to…run to You as soon as [something bad] happens. I want You to be the first response. I want You to be the first one.”
Pollack explained that “pain” and “failure” are good things and that children need to learn “how many people have ever walked without falling?”
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“I think when we realize that failure is a part of it and they gotta skin their knees, they’ve got to learn, they’ve got to fall…it’s okay,” he said. “And then they learn to respond to it in a really good way.”
The former pro athlete recently published Every Day Counts: Start Where You Are. Use What You Have. Do What You Can.
“This is not a book to celebrate my football career by any stretch,” he told CCM Magazine. “But you are going to get a base of knowledge of how I fell in love with football.”
Instead, the book puts a focus on how Pollack found faith. After a church lock-in and a mentorship from a teacher, he “knew there was a real God in heaven.”
In an interview with Publisher’s Weekly, he shared some of the core principles of Every Day Counts.
“First, you have to know that adversity is coming — it’s just a matter of time, but it will find you,” he said. “You have to stop worrying about the adversity and focus on what your response to it will be. Will you use it for God’s purposes, or will you waste an opportunity to change your life for the good? You also have to prioritize standards over feelings. It doesn’t matter how you feel in each moment, the standard that you set should determine what you do. And last, choose joy. I refuse to let anything outside of my control ruin my day. No person or thing has that power.”
Pollack’s prayer for his children reflects his views on resilience, adversity and getting back up after you’ve been knocked down.
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