WTML: The Circle Maker

Have you ever read a book and felt like the author had the ability to spark something within you? Their words on the page spoke directly to your soul and captured you in a way that you hadn’t expected? Mark Batterson is one of those authors for me. I thoroughly enjoy the way that he writes and he’s so well-read that I always come away from his books with a list of others that I must add to my “to read” list.

I’ve talked numerous times on this blog about my struggle with trust and belief. I often find myself praying for things, half-wondering if God will come through. While I believe that God can do anything, I often wonder if he will. I always leave that space for something else to happen because I obviously don’t know his plan. I don’t like to get my faith or hope out there because I’m afraid that I’ll be devastated. But this is exactly the mindset that is combatted in the book The Circle Maker.

“God honors bold prayers and bold prayers honor God.” 

This book opens with the story of Honi, an eccentric Jewish sage who lived during the first century BC and dared to believe for the impossible. There had been a drought in the land both spiritually and physically but Honi believed a miracle could happen. This man drew a circle in the sand and prayed for the rain. It began sprinkling, but he asked for more. Then a torrential rainstorm began and he prayed again. The rain became calm and peaceful and a clear example of God’s grace to the people.

This bold prayer saved a generation and throughout the rest of the book, Mark Batterson asks about the bold prayers residing in the depths of our hearts.

His own story is threaded throughout the book so you can see that he lives this life of bold prayers to a God he knows is good and loving. Whether believing for miracles is easy or hard for you, this is an encouraging and challenging book that will stretch you outside your comfort zone.

Right now I am praying some big, bold prayers for my nation and our world. I am believing that God is going to move in an incredible way in the coming years and that people are going to be set free left and right. These are huge prayers, scary prayers, but I believe that God can and will answer them.

Your big prayer might be for your family, your neighborhood, or your city. It might be for your dream or your future or your goals. It might be for physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual healing for you or someone you know. Or it might be for an invasion of heaven on earth. No matter what your big prayers are, take them to God and pray them consistently. Let’s be like Honi the circle maker, Mark Batterson, Mother Dabney, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Gary Haugen who dare to pray big dreams consistently, knowing that God is honored when we pray big prayers!

Check out The Circle Maker today and dare to begin praying boldly!

What is your favorite Mark Batterson book? And why?

What is the bold prayer you’re praying?

Don’t forget! Pick up your copy of His Story: A Devotional on the Character of God today!

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