Final Post for "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson

I have enjoyed this book study!  This book has helped me develop a much fuller prayer life!  I hope you have all enjoyed the book and that you continue on with the devotional "Draw the Circle".  I will be posting every few days as we go through "Draw the Circle".  We will be doing the devotional daily beginning on Monday August 4th.

If you have any suggestions about what book study you would like us to do next, please comment or email me at RBJKNoyes@naim.net.

I thank God for each of you that has been in this study with us.  I hope this book has helped you learn to draw prayer circles around many things.  Remember Pray Boldly and dream big!

Bottled Tears

What is your vision of how God would be storing all of our tears?  

Do you think that there is one large bottle with all of our tears mixed together?  If so, when Jesus wept his tears would also be in the bottle with my tears and your tears.  

It gives me peace to feel that God also holds onto our prayers, much in the same way that he collects our tears.  If he feels our tears and sorrows are so important then you know that God must feel that our prayers are also important.  Just because our prayer is not being answered today does not mean that God has not heard us or that it is unimportant to him.  You never know when he is going to give us an answer.    

Double Anointing

I had not thought about the story of Elisha asking for double anointing as something we could ask for in current day.  It seemed like an Old Testament kind of thing.  

Can or have you asked for a double portion of anointing?

There are so many people that I would be happy if I had half of the spiritual gifts that they have.  Why would I be happy with half?  Why would I not want double?

Do I ask for half because I feel unworthy? 

In the Old Testament the mantle was given to another and represented their being called by God.  Elijah threw his cloak/mantle around Elisha.  But Elisha did not 

just accept the mantle, he also asked for double the anointing.  How bold of him to ask!

So we circle back to being bold.

  

Bottled Prayer

"Every prayer prayed in that place would be passed on to us."

When I think about the possibility that our prayers do not end, it gives me joy.  

To think that the prayers my grandparents and parents prayed for me are still at work in my life is exciting.  It also makes me realize how important my prayers are for my children, my grandchildren, friends, family and church.  

As we near the end of this book I have to say that it has definitely changed my perspective on prayer.  I think that I took prayer lightly.  Now I feel that prayer is so powerful!  It can change things for generations.  It draws me closer to God.  It has created a more personal relationship with my savior.

Double Miracles

There are so many things we pray for that require another parties participation.
When we pray are we considering how our prayers will affect the lives of others outside of our direct circle?

The miracle that we pray for may require someone else to also take a leap of faith.
The miracle that we pray for may require someone else to suffer a loss.
The miracle that we pray for may be a blessing for both parties.

I pray for a friend to sell her home so she can live closer to her family, but this may require another family to move further away from their family.  I have added to my prayer request to also pray for the family that God places in her home.

I think it is easy to forget that our prayers may affect the lives of others when God answers them.

ASAP

Is ASAP our attitude with our prayer life?  We live in a society where most everything is instantaneous.  It can be difficult to be patient and wait for anything, this includes answers to prayer.  When we have to wait we start to plan how to accomplish it on our own, and if it takes to long we will probably try our plan versus waiting and continuing to pray.

I agree with Mark when he stated "I have a tendency to mishandle the blessings that come too easily or too quickly."

I think if God answers our prayers to quickly we are more likely to take credit for the accomplishment or to feel like it was going to happen anyway.  

What do you do to give God all of the glory for answered prayer?

Do you think that you give God all of the glory when the prayer has been circled for a longer period of time?

Life Goal List

"Setting goals is a practical way of dreaming big."

This section was crazy!  Just take a look at the first one on the list!  Milk a poisonous snake??!!

Do any of you have a life goal list?

I do not have one written out, but I know that I do have some life goals.

• Celebrate 50 year wedding anniversary.
• Celebrate one of our anniversaries on a world cruise
• Go on a missions trip with my Sunday School class
• Go to Machu Picchu with Richard
• Walk where Jesus walked with Katie
• Take a train trip in Alaska with my family
• Get down to my ideal weight of 120 lbs
• Read the Bible within 1 year
• Go cave spelunking with Richard
• Go to Egypt and see the pyramids

10 steps to goal setting

Prayer

Check your motives

Think in categories

Be specific

Write it down

Include others

Celebrate along the way

Dream big

Think long

Pray hard

My goals seem so insignificant compared to the goal lists in the book.  I do not think I am dreaming big.  I am selecting things that I mostly think I will be able to successfully do.  

What would I write on my goal list if there was nothing off limits?  I will need to rethink about my list.

What do you have on your list?

Do you have a list? 

Daniel Fast

"Fasting has a way of fast tracking our prayers."

I have been very curious about fasting.  I have never fasted.  There have been times when I have thought about fasting, but was concerned that others would think it was bizarre and not necessary.  

We have many social activities in my family that revolve around food and it would be difficult for me to fast in secret.  There are many places in the Bible that talk about fasting being private and secret.

In  doing research for this post I found there are lots of different ways of fasting.  

The first Daniel fast was vegetables, fruit and water for 10 days.

The second Daniel fast was similar but also eliminated leavened bread, wine and sweetener.
In Esther the fast was 3 days with no food or drink.
There is a partial fast where you may be called to give up specific foods.
A Juice Fast
Regular Fast - most people still drink during this type of fast

The book says "Some miracles are only accessible via prayer and fasting."
I am not really sure that I agree with that.
I think fasting is more to put us in the correct frame of mind.
To make us more reliant on God.

What are your thoughts on fasting?

"Fasting gives you more power to pay because it's an exercise in willpower."

Prayer Experiment

"The Game with Minutes"

"We try to call Him to mind at least one second of each minute.  We do not need to forget other things nor stop our work, but we invite Him to share everything we do or say or think.  Hundreds of us have experimented until we have found ways to let Him share every minute of our waking hours."

This called to my mind Proverbs 3:6

" In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

If we were calling God to mind every minute of the day he would be definitely be directing our path.  

Our relationship with Christ should be like our relationship with a new love!  

You think about the new love so much.  

Can you commit to calling God to mind every minute?  I am not sure that I can.  I am not very good at multi-tasking.  My husband is not allowed to talk to me when I am working on our business accounting because I can not think about 2 things at once.    

I would love to be "God-intoxicated"!

How about you?  Do you want to be God-intoxicated?  

What are you going to do to accomplish it?

Larks and Owls

"One of the reasons that many people don't feel an intimacy with God is because they don't have a daily rhythm with God."

What is your intimacy level?

In the past I felt like there was no intimacy.  That being said, my prayer life consisted of my desires or my wish list.  It was not about worship and praise.  

Neither Lark nor Owl is better.  If you are a lark you begin your day by praying, pray throughout the day and end the day with prayer.  If you are an owl you just start later and close later.

Do we work at making time for our Savior?

I am going to try to get up earlier each day to read my Bible and pray.  My prayer life is always at a time that requires no planning or commitment, whenever it is convenient for me.  

"Praying hard is hard."

I sometimes do not start my day with prayer.  As most of you know, I work from home so I tend to make my coffee and depending on what is going on with my business, I sometimes go right to work.  My day should always be primed with prayer.  

I thought the study about priming was so interesting.  When I was a teenager I worked at McDonalds in the drive-thru.  My hours were the breakfast hours.  Looking back I am so glad that I always was cheerful with the customers.  Maybe I helped prime someone to have a good day!

Be sure to make your own routines and rituals for prayer and growing your relationship with Christ.  

Proximity

"Proximity creates Intimacy."

Have you ever felt like you were supposed to place your hands on someone while you prayed for them?

I have. .  . . . confession time . . . . I did not do as I felt God was leading me.  

I was so fearful of what the other person might think of my behavior.
What if God really was not telling me to do it?
All the "what if's"

What miracle may I have missed but not doing as I felt led?

I recently read a book . . . I wish I could remember which book this story comes from.  If I remember I will post the name of the book.  It was also a very good book!

It tells a story about a speaker at a youth conference.  He is speaking and a woman walks down the center isle of the church carrying a young child.  She tells them that she was told by God to bring her child to them and they were going to heal him.  The pastors spoke among themselves unsure how to handle the situation.  They decided that if God sent this woman that they would do their best.  They advised the teens that if they did not believe the child could be healed that they should leave.  Only people who believed that the child could be healed stayed.  They placed their hands on the child and prayed.  They prayed hard and with boldness.  Well, after the prayers were done nothing obvious had changed.  The child was still cripple.
Years later the speaker ran into the same woman.  He asked about her child and as they were speaking a child ran up to his Mom!  It was that child. A very short time after they laid hands on the child the child's legs straightened and he was able to walk, with no medical intervention.

Was the healing due to proximity?
 I do not know, but it surely can not hurt!

When you pray do you face anything in particular?
Do you think facing something changes the result of your prayer or does it make your heart more receptive?

Prayer Posture

"Physical postures help posture our hearts and minds."

This section was very interesting.  I have been trying to talk with God more frequently, and have been making it a part of my normal day to day activity.  

That being said, I pray while at my desk, while driving my car, while loading the diswasher, etc etc.  

How important do you think posture is?  

Do you think our posture when casual is disrespectful to our father?

I thought the Quaker position that was discussed was interesting so I did a little more research.

1. Find a comfortable seat. Don’t lean forward, though neither should you slouch as if attempting to sleep.  I like to sit in a hardwood chair or even on a stool.  
2. Close your eyes.
3. Place your hands face-down on your lap. This represents letting go of all that has filled your mind.
4. In silence, give to God all your anxieties, concerns, and worries.  Surrender to him all those thoughts which occupy your mind.  I begin by thinking this phrase:  “Lord I give to you….”
5. Now, maintaining this same posture, rotate your hands so that your palms are face-up.  This is symbolic for receiving blessings and peace from God.
6. In silence, ask God to grant you peace.  You may ask for any number of blessings (such as strength, courage, faith, patience, etc). I begin by saying:  “Lord, please fill me with your…”
7. Sit in silence for some time, focused on God — and simply resting in his presence

Excert taken from http://jamesbrett.wordpress.com/2011/04/13/meditative-prayer-centering-down/

I am sure if you are like me you will try the above posture . . . . I am always looking for ways to eliminate the outside distractions of my my life from overtaking my prayer life.  

Many different postures were used in the Bible, I think your posture really depends on the situation.   I do not think that our posture changes how our prayers are heard, but I think our posture puts our hearts in the position they need to be in.  

Kneeling - Psalm 95:6, Daniel 6:10, 1 Kings 8:54, Acts 21:5

Bowing - 2 Chronicles 7:3, 2 Chronicles 29:29, Romans 14:11, Psalm 22:29, Mark 5:6

Prostrate - Numbers 20:6, 1 Chronicles 29:20, Revelations 7:11, 1 King 18:39, Matthew 2:11

Arms Raised - Psalms 134:2, 1 King 8:54, 1 Kings 2:22

Familiarity with God

"He had a familiarity with God that was disarming.  He had a faith in God that was reassuring."  

Familiarity is relaxed friendliness or intimacy between people.  

I want this with God!

There are times that I feel so far away from God.  My life can become so busy that the most important things get left by the wayside. . . . .sadly this can be my time with God.  

I want so much to have that relationship with my Savior!  That all who know me will see Christ through me!

I want to pursue Jesus and know his ways.  I want to spend time with him so that I will he his soft voice. By becoming more familiar with our Father my faith will grow!

Open Doors

"These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.  

What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  I know your deeds.  

See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut."

How many of us only pray for open doors?  After all most of us want what we want, when we want it.  We are currently living in a time where lots of things are instantaneous.  If you need an answer right away you can go to your computer and have multiple answers in seconds.  We go to the store and can buy all of our food, we do not need to grow it or slaughter it.  We live in the here and now.
I know that I get frustrated when doors are closed, because I feel like I know what is best and I am sure that it is something God would want me to have.  It is difficult to remember that sometimes a door is closed because God knows what is coming, something that would be bigger and better for me.  We struggle as finite beings to see much beyond our current needs and desires.  God see our entire future, and he wants to give us great gifts!  

No Answer

Do you trust that God is for you even when you do not receive what you have prayed for?

Do you trust the God has a better plan than you do?

Do you trust that his reason for not answering your prayer with a yes may be beyond your understanding?

I think we have all had some aha moments with what we initially perceived as an unanswered prayer. 

I know when my husband and I were trying to buy our first home we found a home that we loved.  We made a full listing offer on the home.  The next day we heard back from the seller that a cash buyer has also made a full listing offer and they were going to take the cash offer.  That unanswered prayer turned into a blessing, we found a house that was larger and in a better location and were able to close!  

Imagine if God gave us everything we asked for?  I know that I would not feel as blessed as I do now.

In some areas of my life I never would have imagined the blessing that God has provided me.  

Blessings that I do not deserve.     

"Sometimes God gets in the way to show us the way."

Wet Feet

"When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river."

Why do you think God wanted them to take a few steps into the river?

I think it was to show their trust in him.  This is a situation that they could not handle on their own and they had to put their trust in God!

I sometimes stand on the shore, waiting for God to clear a path for me.  Sometimes I wait a very long time before I take action, and other times I am continue to wait on the shore.  I am sure that I am missing out on some miracles!

"If you make a move, you'll see God move."  

Have you ever made a move out of obedience and then seen God move in powerful ways?
How can we be sure that we are moving out of obedience and not craziness?

How crazy was it for Jesus to command Peter to go fish and the first fish would have a coin in its mouth?
I love fishing, and can say I have never found a coin in the mouth of a fish!
We need to stay prayerful and pay attention to Gods still soft voice.

The Cattle on a Thousand Hills

God loves showing up in unexpected ways at unexpected times.

How often has God shown up at the last minute for you?  

Do you become afraid and change course? or do you pray through?

Could this last minute answer to prayer be God making us understand that we need to depend on him all the time?

I  know that I need reminders to rely on Christ.  I am a  planner and want to know where I am going to be and all the details long before the required time.  

I am praying for a miracle, something that I have no way to provide, only Christ can provide it for me.  I am being bold.  I am being persistent.  I am being thankful.  

JEJIT - Just enough just in time

If you think about it, that is all we need, Just enough and just in time.

I feel like God shows up in unexpected ways all the time.  Our God is such an awesome God, just look around you!  What a gorgeous world he has created for us!

God is awesome!

The Favor of Him Who Dwells in the Burning Bush

Watching and Waiting


I thoroughly enjoyed this section!
I also do not like to wait to give gifts!  As soon as I have a present wrapped, I want to present it.
I had not thought about our heavenly father being excited to give us gifts.
"He can hardly wait to keep his promises, to perform his word, and to answer our prayers."
I think sometimes we do not truly feel that God is our father.  As a parent, I desire to give me children the best that I can provide.  This is how God is with us.  He wants what is best for us.  We sometimes need to be reminded that his best is better than anything we can possibly imagine.

In the beginning of this chapter it discussed special places to pray.  Do you have a special place that you like to pray?  I do not know about you, but I tend to have lots of distractions in my life and struggle to be focus only on my conversation with God.  I am going to work on thinking of a place that I can go free of intrusion from the outside world!

Start Circling!

Are our prayers like an awkward conversation? 

Like a list of wants needs and desires?

Using the Bible, and our hopes & dreams for the future should help to create great dialogue with God!

I often use creation as part of my morning dialogue with God.  When I walk my puppies in the morning it is hard not to acknowledge the majesty of his creation!  

What an amazing home God created for us!

We are so fortunate to have a personal savior that we can and should 

have personal conversations with.

He loves us and wants a personal relationship with us!

I need to spend more time in my Bible not only to circle his promises 

but to know and understand him on a more personal level.

Persistence Quotient

Persistence Quotient

Does your prayer life reflect persistence?

I know for me it does not always reflect persistence.  

My prayer life is strongly affected by my impatience.

I grow tired of waiting and I want the issue resolved. . . . NOW.

So I sometimes stop praying about the issue and go into my fix-it mode.  

This usually backfires on me.  I need to practice persistence in my prayer life.

Do you grow impatient or are you persistent in your prayer life?

Pray with persistence!  Remember it is never to late for God to answer your prayer.  Just remember the answer may not be exactly what you were hoping for or what you expect!

Pray Hard!

Pray Hard

Do we sometimes not pray for for certain things because we know that God already knows our struggles and we do not want to always be asking/pleading?

Sometimes I gloss over things in prayer because I know God knows my needs and I do not want to always be asking for the same thing. . . . over and over and over again.

If we were living in biblical times and we could literally take our problems to Jesus would we

Crash a party - like the prostitute?

Climb a tree - like Zacchaeus?

Cut an hole in someones ceiling like the men who were seeking healing for their loved one?

Why do we not view Jesus as approachable as during Biblical times?  Prayer can be the equivalent of climbing the tree, crashing a party or cutting a hole is someones ceiling.  We just need to Pray hard.  Pray with passion!  Pray like your life or the life of a loved one depends on it.

A Letter to God

A Letter to God

"Sometimes the power of prayer is the power to carry on.  

It doesn't always change your circumstances, but it gives you the strength to walk through them."

It seems like God has carried me so many times.  I definitely need his strength.

There have been times that I have been on my knees in the shower crying literally and pleading with God to help me with my burden.

He has always lifted me, maybe not always giving me the result I was hoping for but he is always there for me emotionally.  Turning my problems over to God has always brought me peace and the strength to move forward.  

The other thing I thought about while reading the section titled "A letter to God" is that sometimes when I am struggling to talk to someone about a difficult situation, I will write a letter to make my thoughts more clear, instead of talking and putting my foot in my mouth.

I loved the idea of writing a letter to God with our hopes and dreams, then praising God daily.

Sizing up God

Sizing up God

God asks "Is there a limit to my power?"

Are our problems bigger than God?  

We should be praying with the knowledge that God has no limit to his power.

He can part the sea

Feed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish

Provided quail for 600,000 Isrealites 

Fell the walls of Jericho

Raised Lazarus

Turned water to wine

Healing of the blind

Birth of Jesus

and lets not forget the Resurrection!

His power has no limits!  

He can answer all of our prayers.  

The question is will he, and if so when will he.

I love the idea of praying with holy confidence!

Many Prayer Circles

Prayer Circles

I am going to backtrack to earlier in these chapters.

Page 59 had a paragraph that made me think about how many prayer circles that each of us may have.

What are your prayer circles?

• Children
• Parents
• Health
• Provisions
• Reconciliation
• Salvation
• Friends Needs
• Long Term Plans

Are we praying for each of the above

• Boldly?
• Specifically?
• Through?
• Consistently?
• with Praise?
• with Faith?
• with Patience?
• Regularly?
• with Praise?

My prayer life is definitely changing based on what I am learning.  I am trying more consistently to discern Gods desires for me from my own personal desires.    Our God is such an amazing God!  I am so thankful for each of you who is participating in this study and I hope that this study is helping each of you grow in your prayer life!

Praystorm

Praystorm

I am sure that most of us have done a plan for the future at some point.  I know that I did one while I was in high school.  I wish that I had saved a copy of it.  I am also sure that at this point in my life I would be very amused by what my teenage self thought was a good plan!

"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans."

As an adult I most likely would look at the plans I had as a teenager and see how small my plans were.

As an adult I have more wisdom and understanding then I did as a teenager.  

What would God think of our long term plans?

Do our plans have God at the forefront or ourselves?

  

God is so much wiser and has foresight that we do not possess.  

We can not even begin to imagine the amazing plans he has in store for us!

Keep planning, but pray like your plan depends on God, because it does!

Prayer Promise

Prayer Promise

I think this section really should have been titled "Patience".

Patience is something that most of us struggle with.

We pray for Gods provisions and when he does not answer us as quickly as we would like, 

we set out to fix the situation ourselves.  

We want what we want when we want it.

I have grown inpatient many many times waiting on Gods answer to prayer.  

It can be so difficult waiting, so we give up praying and try to do it ourselves.  

Everything is so much better in Gods time!

Sometimes what seems like a no is really a not yet. . . BE PATIENT!

This is Crazy!

Defining Decisions create Defining Moments!

"You are only one defining decision away from a totally different life."

This section really spoke to me.  So often I let how get in the way of what 

I feel God has called me to do.

How will I make it happen versus God will do it through me.  This mindset leaves me feeling inadequate.  I need to be reminded sometimes that God does not call the qualified.  He qualifies the called!

How many awesome experiences have I missed because Gods calling 

• is not in my character and it seems like people would think I was crazy?
• does not seem like something I can do?
• is not something that I have time to complete?

We all have excuses.  Just let God work through you!

Define each of your decisions for Gods calling.

Big Dreams

Big Dreams

Nothing honors God more than a big dream that is way beyond our ability to accomplish.  

Why?

Because there is no way we can take credit for it!

Would we risk looking foolish by drawing a prayer circle and committing to it?

I had never considered that it may have seemed foolish for David to take on Goliath, 

or Peter to step out of the boat. . . . I always was just impressed with their faith 

and their willingness to trust God entirely.

"In order to experience a miracle, you have to take a risk."

Praise Through

Praise Through

"true faith celebrates before the miracle happens, as if the miracle has already happened, because you know that you know that God is going to deliver on His promise."

I struggled a little with the above statement.  It does not seem like we should assume that God is going to give us what we are praying for.  Then I realized that the end of that statement was "on his promise."    

Has God put a promise on your heart?  If he has then you need to celebrate it!  

I have been praying a prayer circle and this section has made me focus more on praising God for what he has done and what he will do versus only prayer.  

God deserves our praise for so many things!  

Sometimes our personal difficulties cloud our vision and keep us from giving praise.

Praise is mentioned about 250 times in the bible.  Close to the same amount as prayer is mentioned.  That is probably a pretty good indicator of how important praise is.

"Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: 

be thankful unto him, and bless his name."  Psalms 100:4

"Praise the Lord. . . For His merciful kindness is great toward us, 

and the truth of the Lord endures forever" Psalms 117:1-2

"Praise Him for His mighty acts; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness" Psalms 150:2

"I will praise Your name, for You have done wonderful things." Isiah 25:1

"Praise the Lord! For He has delivered the life of the poor from the hand of evildoers" Jeremiah 20:13

"And all the people, when they saw it, gave praise to God" Luke 18:43.

We all need to keep circling our Jericho with prayer and with praise!

Praying for versus Praying through

Praying for versus Praying Through

When was the last time each of us was on our face with God?  

Crying, Weeping, Knowing that our only hope is with Christ. 

What a total act of submission to Christ, to be prostrate before him, placing all of our hopes, dreams, desires and needs in his hands!  

So frequently when I pray I am sitting in a comfortable chair.  I need to spend more time with Christ on my knees or on my face.  

"Sometimes faith seems like a denial of reality, but that's because we're holding on to a reality that is more real than the reality we can perceive with our five senses"  I loved this sentence.  It reminded me that Gods plan for us is so much better than we could imagine!

The other side of praying through is know that you may not receive what you are praying for.  We also need to remember to praise God even when we do not receive exactly what we were praying for.  He has a much bigger plan for us than we can imagine   

Praying Through

Praying Through

Elizabeth J Dabney

What an amazing story about commitment and consistency to prayer!
I did some research on her and she did even more to build Gods kingdom!
More information on Elizabeth Dabney
I read the preview of her book, "What it means to Pray Through" by Elizabeth Dabney.  Who would have ever thought based on the information in "The Circle Maker" that she did not want to be a preachers wife!
I loved the explanation of praying through being about consistency and intensity.  It is more than words, it is raw emotions.
Prayers - BOLD, SPECIFIC and with INTENSITY!
You are only one prayer away from a miracle.

The Jericho Miracle part 2

Jesus at the Walls to Jericho

Jesus Heals 2 Blind Men at Jericho Wall

If you met Jesus today how would each of us reply to his question "What do you want me to do for you?"
I have thought about this question alot today.  Would the things on your list be God glorifying?
Healing?
Salvation?
Reconciliation?
Provision?
These are probably the 4 most basic things that each of us seek from Jesus.
If Jesus asked us "What do you want me to do for you?" would our answers be BOLD and SPECIFIC?

Honi was so specific in his prayer.  He prayed for rain and when he received a drizzle, he became more specific with his pray stating he wanted rain to fill the cisterns, and when he received a extremely heavy rain he became even more specific that he was seeking the rain of Gods favor, blessing and graciousness.

Heal _(name)_ who has _(name of illness)_
Salvation for my friend _ (Name)_
Reconciliation for _(name)_ and his wife _(name)_
Provision for __(name)__ missions trip to __(location)__

I think I am fairly specific when I pray, but I also say "If it is your will".  I think I say this out of concern that God may not give me the miracle I am seeking.
I know that God can perform miracles, so I should be asking boldly, specifically and with confidence.

The Jericho Miracle

The Jericho Miracle

Welcome back everyone!  I hope you all had an amazing weekend!  We will be reading Chapter 3 and 4 this week.  Please feel free to comment at the bottom of the posts!  We would love to hear from all of you that are reading this book with us, whether you are in our Sunday School Class or just happened upon this blog.

When I took the time to really absorb the story of Jericho it left me in awe!  Can you imagine walking around this 12 acre city, personally unprepared for battle, relying on Christ versus Self?   This must have seemed insurmountable to the Israelite's.  But yet they did as God had instructed.  They walked around the massive structure.  They did exactly what God instructed.  They did not decide that they wanted to walk twice daily so they would not have to walk so much on the final day.  They just followed Gods instructions.  

How often do we start to follow Gods leading but then we grow impatient waiting for the results and deviate from what we are called to do?

Can you imagine how amazing it must have been to see the walls of this city collapse?

What is your Jericho?  

What dream does God want you to pursue? 

What miracle are you seeking?

NOTHING is to big for God!

Circle Makers part 3

All Bets Are Off

I loved this quote "We pray out of our ignorance, but God answers out of His omniscience.  We pray out of our impotence, but God answers out of his Omnipotence.  God has the ability to answer the prayers we should have prayed but lacked the knowledge or ability to even ask."

This made me wonder what people say about how we should pray. . . . so being in the age of Google. . . I performed a search for  "how to pray".  Obviously there are many many many schools of thought.  Actually there were 78,900,000 results to this search.  There are many differing opinions and many different formulas.  

A few weeks ago I was discussing this with a friend and she said something that I felt would make each of us feel our prayers are more personal.  Here is what she suggested. . . 

Pretend you are in one of your favorite places.

You are looking off in the distance

You see your savior approaching

You walk toward him as he is coming toward you

When you reach him, you share you heart, your concerns, your fears.  

You turn them over to him. 

Make your prayer life a personal relationship. . . .not a formula.

I loved the imagery and I have used this technique and think it is helping to make my relationship with God more personal.  

Circle Makers part 2

The First Circle

Have you ever considered a prayer circle prior to reading this book?  I definitely have felt the need to walk and pray, and I guess that is somewhat like a prayer circle.  Not like Honi's circle, but a circle of sorts.

On page 16 Mark Batterson wrote "I felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to do a prayer walk."  God provided far beyond Marks expectations over the years! This made me stop and wonder how often we have felt led/prompted to do something and we ignore it because the time is not convenient or it may be awkward.  I know I personally have done this.  Looking back, I wonder what wonderful things I have missed by not being obedient.  I pray that I will become more responsive when I feel led to pray, share Gods word, or serve God.  

Circle Makers part 1

"Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers"

I will be doing post for a few days on Chapter 2  "Circle Makers"  There is so much in this chapter that I want to talk more about!

The chapter starts with talking about bold prayer.  "Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers". I went to the Bible searching for information on bold prayers.  I was surprised at how many time it shows people praying boldly and scripture advising us to pray/approach God boldly.  

"Let us then with boldness draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" Hebrews 4:16 

"And this is the boldness that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." 1 John 5:14

When we approach our Savior are we approaching begging, pleading and persuading 

or are we approaching boldly?  

Mark Batterson states "God loves nothing more than keeping promises, answering prayer, performing miracles and fulfilling dreams."  That is the same way we are as parent, we all want to give the best to our children.  It is sometimes easy to forget to look at God as our parent.  God loves us and wants nothing but the best for us.    

   

The Legend of the Circle Maker

 "The day thunderclaps applauded the Almighty."  

What an amazing way to look at a thunderstorm!

This chapter really made me question how I pray.

Am I bold?
Is it disrespectful to God if I am bold almost to the point that it seems like I am demanding?
Am I willing to commit to staying in a circle and waiting on God?

It did not seem to me that Honi questioned that God was going to provide the rain.  He was willing to commit that he would not leave the circle until his prayer had been answered.  He was committed and believed that God would provide the rain.

In our prayer lives are we bold and committed?

In the Beginning . . .

Welcome to theour study of the books "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson and "Draw the Circle" also by Mark Batterson.  This study was started as part of our Sunday School Class.  Please feel free to comment even if you are not in our Sunday School Class!  We would love to hear from everyone!
If you have any suggestions about how to improve the method of this study, please feel free to comment in the field at the bottom!  We have never done this before and will appreciate any input.
We will be reading chapters 1 and 2 of "The Circle Maker" this week 6/2-6/8.  I will be trying to post daily.  As you read your chapters please comment if you have a question, thought or if something touched you!  The purpose of this study is for us to grow in our faith and our relationships with one another, and also for help with accountability (which is what I personally need)!

6/2-6/8 Chapter 1 and 2 of "The Circle Maker"
6/9-6/15 Chapter 3 and 4 of "The Circle Maker"
6/16-6/22 Chapter 5 and 6 of "The Circle Maker"
6/23-6/29 Chapter 7 and 8 of "The Circle Maker"
6/30-7/6 Chapter 9 and 10 of "The Circle Maker"
7/7-7/13 Chapter 11 and 12 of "The Circle Maker"
7/14-7/20 Chapter 13 and 14 of "The Circle Maker"
7/21-7/27 Chapter 15 and 16 of "The Circle Maker"
7/28-8/3 Chapter 17 and 18 of "The Circle Maker"
Beginning on 8/4 we will begin reading "Draw the Circle".  This is a daily devotional so each day we will be reading 1 devotional (8/4 will be day 1)

I appreciate each of you and look forward to doing this study with you!
Brenda