“I pray and read the Bible a lot”

“Jesus is Lord”, reads the Instagram bio line of Chris Führich, a 26-year-old midfielder of the German football national team at the Euro 2024 competition.

Führich, who only recently had his debut with national team, is an outspoken Christian who reads the Bible with friends and likes to use Bible verses to describe important moments of his career.

“Incredibly proud and grateful for my international debut. Psalm 37:4 #Jesus”, he wrote on Instagram the day he debuted with the national Manschafft. When he later knew he had been selected for the European Championship squad, he mentioned Colossians 3:17.

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Chris Führich (@cjfuehrich)

1 Timothy 4:4, Proverbs 9:10, Isaiah 26:4, Psalm 118:24, … Every message posted on social media by Führich is signed off with a different Bible verse, reflecting his knowledge and interest in Scripture.

“I pray very much and I read the Bible very much”, he told tv broadcaster RTL in June, days before the Euro 2024 started. “Doing it gives me a very, very good feeling, and out if it I draw a lot of strength”.

He went on to explain his ‘quiet time’ routine, times he sets apart “in the evening before going to sleep and in the morning as I wake up”.

In a previous interview with BW24, the footballer expressed how praying every day helped him overcome difficult moments. The Christian faith “has always been a part of me”, he said, but “it has become more and more intense in recent years because I have become more involved with it. I've got to know people and made connections. I am happy and grateful for that”.

Chris Führich wears the number 11. Throughout the year, he plays in the Bundesliga (Germany's top football league) with the team VfB Stuttgart, and has scored 8 goals this season.

Another player in the national German team is defender Benjamin (Benny) Heinrichs (number 20), who owes his Christian faith to his mother, from Ghana. “My mother brought the Christian faith into our home”, he said in a video posted on Youtube. “My favourite Bible verse, which I pray on the football pitch, is Psalm 27:14: 'Wait for the Lord, be strong and take and hwait for the Lord'”.

Germany is one of the big favourites to win the Euro 2024 title, and has the advantage of playing at home. They won the opening game against Scotland with a clear 5-1.