Sports Illustrated has a beautifully-told profile of Tim Tebow — 2007 Heisman Trophy winner, Florida Gators quarterback, son of missionaries, miracle baby and preacher.

In 1986, his dad Bob Tebow prayed, “”God, if you give me a son, if you give me Timmy, I’ll raise him to be a preacher.’” After a difficult, dangerous pregnancy his wife gave birth to Tim.

“All his life, from the moment he could understand, I told him, ‘You’re a miracle baby,’” Bob recalls. “‘God’s got a purpose for you, and at some point I think He’s going to call you to preach.’

“I asked God for a preacher, and he gave me a quarterback.”

Turns out God gave him both. The writer Austin Murphy, who has followed Tebow for three years now, calls him “the most effective ambassador-warrior for his faith I’ve come across in 25 years at SI.” Read the profile to see how Tebow lives out his faith, preaching in prisons and leading his teammates in prayer.