Premier League sensation Patson Daka said God is "preaching his Word through this sport".,,,
Jesus saves, but he wasn’t the goalkeeper the night Christian striker Patson Daka stunned the football world with a four-goal, match-winning European performance – then praised God.
The Zambia and Leicester City forward turned the game for the 2016 Premier League champions with a nine-minute hat-trick, then notched a fourth. The English team had been 2-0 down at Spartak Moscow in a Europa League game before Daka’s double-brace of cool finishes.
The next morning, the 23-year-old tweeted: “When the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen. Isaiah 60:22”. He added the hashtag, “#MakeJesusYourAim”.
Daka, transferred to Leicester for £22 million in the summer after netting 54 goals in only 82 games for Austria’s Red Bull Salzburg, has spoken previously about the importance of his faith.
“I really need God more than anything,” he told Planet Sport. “God is the Creator of the heavens and the earth; he created we humans in his own image. He told us to have dominion over the earth, and in the Scriptures it says let everything that has breath praise the name of the Lord. So I see no reason why I shouldn’t praise the name of the Lord; he is the reason why I am alive today and he is the giver of life.
“Scripture also says to seek first the kingdom of God and everything shall be added unto you. So if I speak for his graciousness and his kingdom then everything that I desire, I will have.”
The incredible display in Moscow was the second time in little more than a year that Daka had scored four in a game, having done so for Salzburg. He is quick to give the credit for such feats to the Almighty.
“I believe that God has given me the gift of preaching his Word through this sport and so I have to use that gift to make known his Word to the world,” said Daka.
“Many people are looking at me because of where I am right now, but I want them to know what makes me be where I am.
“I know that God will keep on raising me to greater heights. He wants a lot of people to know about him. I want to use my career to encourage people, and when you have God in your life you have the ability and the courage to overcome life’s trials and tribulations.
“With him, everything is possible.”
Daka is now being widely touted as a replacement for Leicester City fans’ favourite and former England striker Jamie Vardy.
Foxes manager Brendan Rogers enthused about the Zambian: “Since he has come into the club he has not stopped smiling and not stopped working.
In the 2019-20 season, while playing for Salzburg, Daka became the first Zambian player to score in the Champions League group stages. He has netted 20 times for Zambia from under-17 to full international level.
