More Than A Circle

In the summer of 2019, I went on a mission trip to Washington, D.C. with a group of other students from Vanguard University. During the trip we partnered with National Community Church which is lead by Pastor Mark Batterson. Every first time guest at NCC receives a free copy of one of Batterson’s New York Best Time Seller in The Circle Maker. The book collected a lot of dirt on my bookshelf as I had the intention to read it but never had the time and to be honest reading is always something I want to do but isn’t always my first choice of a thing to do. Once I opened the first page and read the first chapter I could not put it down. This book is filled with powerful stories or should I rather say testimonies of prayers that Batterson has prayed and stories of others who made the bold decision to make big prayers. Batterson motivates his audience to pray big prayers.

“Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers.” (page 15)

“The goal is glorifying God by drawing circles around the promises, miracles, and dreams He wants for you.” (page 16)

In a simple and clear way he explains how to narrow down and be specific in your prayer. The powerful story of Honi the circle maker showcases the heart behind this spirit filled and life changing book. Batterson explains how a prayer circle cannot be drawn without knowing what the prayer is for.

“So while God is for us, most of us have no idea what we want God to do for us.” (page 24)

The book explains all of the miracles that his church experienced which the purchases of their land which involved big prayer. The book is broken up into 5 short sections: introduction, the first circle- dream big, the second circle-pray hard, the third circle-think long, and keep circling. It has taught me to pray through the Bible as I read it and to pray through my daily schedule. I live by a calendar and it never came to mind to pray for everything on my calendar before the day even begins. Pray that my scheduled meetings, classes, leisure events, and daily interactions will be filled with God’s presence and that he will turn them all into an opportunity for his will to be done.

“Praying through my schedule instead of just looking through it.” (page 158)

 After visiting the locations mentioned in the book while I was in D.C., it brought his testimonies to life. The fulfillment of his big prayers. The chapters are short enough to read 2-3 chapters a day and is a easy read that will build your faith and push you to draw circles around your prayer life. If you feel like your prayer life has been lacking, a feeling that I feel more than not, than this book will encourage you with the faith to pray bold prayers that will shift the foundation of your biggest dreams and greatest fears. This is a must read for those that are new to the faith or those that just want to grow in their relationship with God. Now this book does not offer a recipe to get God to answer all your prayers but rather it is a lens to transform our perspective on prayer. 

“Drawing prayer circles isn’t about proving yourself; it’s about giving God an opportunity to prove Himself to you.” (page 197)