The Circle Maker small group began last night.  Our leaders shared a profound spiritual beginning:  God is drawing you to Himself not challenging you.  As a back drop to the study they emphasized a drawing of God’s love and not a battle with Him in which we feel inadequate and exhausted.

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.” Jeremiah 31:3

What is God drawing you to pray about? And, what circle will you draw?  Think right now of ONE thing ( I know there are many) that you would draw a circle around and say, “God I am intensely praying for ____________.”  You can draw many circles later, but for right now think of what you would put in this circle:

 After you’ve put a situation, a person, a job, a change….whatever it was you put in your circle, write three prayers you can pray over this situation.

1.

2.

3.

Here’s the FUN part!  God LOVES BOLD PRAYERS.  It’s time to get real bold and real detailed.  If you put I want a stronger marriage, then below you could write, I will pray with my husband each morning at 6:00, or every day we will read from God’s Word.  Be more specific and more bold in HOW you will go about believing God for your prayer circle.

1.

2.

3.

Last night in small group there were pretty bold prayer requests.  My daughter Vivian first requested that she would meet Christian friends at her new school.  Her circle was around Cosby High School.  Her second go ’round was her bold prayer, “Lord help me be the Christian friend to someone else.” WOW!  I tried not to shout glory shouts but I did tear up.  Parish and I both chose our marriage and very bold, specific prayers for our unity and home responsibilities. 

What if God doesn’t answer our prayers?  It was 400 years of no prophets, no miracles, and no rain for a long season for the Israelites before the Honi drew his circle, asked for rain, and God delivered. What if your situation is part of the 400 year wait, or part of the 40 years wandering in the desert, or……??????  I asked Parish this through anxiety, because I could list so many things within the last week with my friends and family that seem so heart breaking and impossible.

I believe that every blessing, every breakthrough, every miracle, and every dream has a genealogy.  If you trace it all the way back to  its origin, you will find a prayer circle.”  (Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker)

Never stop praying!  Sometimes God answers in your lifetime (most times He does); other times you may have a prayer that is for the next generation.  Moses delivered God’s people, took care of them most of his life, and God gave him a glimpse of the Promised Land, yet He never set foot in the Promised Land (this side of heaven), the next generation that he mentored did.  That might seem pretty depressing if you are focused on results and evidence in your life time.  I’m convinced that if we begin to pray prayers that are more intense and bold, that God will do miracles beyond our life span.  What is even cooler is that when we get to heaven for eternity we will have this GRAND epiphany of “Oh!  I get it!”  God has plans beyond our finite, earthly minds and it may take many generations to complete it, but DON’T EVER STOP PRAYING!

We need to stop thinking my life time and start thinking eternity.

 Psalm 22:

Posterity will serve him;

future generations will be told about the Lord.

They will proclaim his righteousness

to a people yet unborn—  (NOTICE: YET UNBORN!)

for he has done it.

Believe that He has done it! 

“The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect – and they intersect when we draw a circle around the impossible situations in our lives and invite God to intervene.” (The Circle Maker)