Books that have Changed my Life #2 Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge by Mark Batterson
A few years ago, the Lord gave me a calling that was obviously impossible by all worldly measurements.
I had somehow found myself newly leading
a ministry organization that was on the edge of collapse. For the first time in
my life, I received a clear and individual calling from the Lord.
The conversation went something like this:
Me: “Lord
what would you have me sacrifice in order that others would come to know you?”
The
Lord: “Rebuild the ministry I’ve put into your hand.”
Me: “Oh, Lord, I meant like money
or stuff. Lord, rebuilding this thing would be IMPOSSIBLE. I can’t DO IT. I don’t
even know how.”
The Lord: “With me, all
things are possible. Rebuild it.”
Me: “But it’s going to be WAY HARD.
I don’t want to do this! It’s going to hurt!”
The Lord: (Silence)
Me: “Yes, Lord. I will do it.”
I began the work, and I began
building my team, and the further we went, the worse things got. We discovered
more problems, worse problems than I could have even imagined.
I began seeking wisdom and asking for
prayer. A wise leader recommended Mark Batterson’s book, Draw the Circle: The
40 Day Prayer Challenge. She told me to follow the prayer challenge to discover
God’s will for the organization and then to pray for miracles.
I bought the book and got started.
Within the first 40 days, I asked God for 6 miracles I knew we needed, and I
also knew I had no Earthly means of accomplishing.
At the end of the first 40 days, things
got even worse.
I made mistakes and wrote my letter
of resignation. I felt for certain the ministry was dead and I was the one
responsible for killing it. I begged the Lord to free me from this calling at
which I had failed.
But He didn’t release me, and I
didn’t resign, and I kept praying. And my team began praying with me.
And at the end of 80 days….
everything had changed. Things were
starting to look better, and we hadn’t been shut down yet.
I continued praying and circling. For hundreds
and hundreds of days.
And after a year and a half, God
had miraculously accomplished every single miracle we asked Him for, and blessed
us far more than I could have expected.
It’s a simple little book, really. There’s nothing magical about circling stuff in your prayer journal. And there is no guarantee that God will do what you ask Him to do. It's not about telling God what He should do. It's about asking God what His will is, and then asking Him to do His will in your life. If you are really seeking His will, He will make the impossible possible.
The book taught me to pray and to keep on praying far longer than I ever had before. The
Lord used it to bless us and to help me accomplish the calling He had given me.
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