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Damar Hamlin

The prayers had an effect on all that were involved, the Bills' team chaplain explained. He said, "God invites us to pray by listening to Him as well as sharing our hearts and requests. Prayers' purpose is to build this relationship and to align us with His will. It's in this alignment that we grow and learn how to follow Him."

The Bills' players have continued to be open to prayer ever since they came back home from Cincinnati.

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The Bills' chaplain has encouraged the players with a verse from the book of Hebrews 4:16: "Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in times of need."

"We had a full team prayer that first day I shared that with them. It's been an opportunity to reach some guys who might not normally come to Bible study or chapel."

Before the game between the New England Patriots, there were many fans in Highmark Stadium wearing Damar's #3 jersey. The Bills' chaplain gave each player a "3 Realities" card that had three Bible verses:

• God is with us...

Psalm 23:4: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me."

• Time is limited for each of us... Ecclesiastes 3:1-2: "To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die; A time to plant, And a time to pluck what is planted."

• Jesus brings us the victory over death...

1 Corinthians 15:57: "But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

After the game, the Bill's Chaplain, Len Vanden Bos and the Patriots' chaplain, Juan Robinson, met players from both teams to pray at midfield, saying "The Patriots have a good core of believers on the team, and we have a strong brotherhood with them. We're rivals, for sure. But after the game, a lot of guys were filled with gratitude for what we had seen God do in Damar's life."

The Bills' chaplain said that there are many strong Christians on all the NFL teams. He said, "You realize they're people just trying to figure it out and do their best like everyone else, except they have a spotlight on them. It was a long and emotional week, but we are so grateful for God's mercy on Damar."

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