Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge

by Mark Batterson

It’s not about doing great things for God; it’s about God doing great things in us.

But if we are praying in the will of God and for the glory of God, then agreeing with someone in prayer is like getting our prayer contract notarized.

Our most powerful prayers are chained to the promises of God.

Chain it to your mind through memorization. Chain it to your heart through meditation. Chain it to your past, present, and future through prayer.

I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. HABAKKUK 2:1 NLT

With each answered prayer, we draw bigger prayer circles. With each act of faithfulness, it increases our faith. With each promise kept, it increases our persistence quotient.

Going back to places of spiritual significance should be part of our spiritual rhythm.

We need to find a place where we are free from distraction, where we get good reception, where we can focus, and where our faith is strong.

if the Holy Spirit prompts us to pray, then we need to take a step of faith and mark God’s territory.

Going back to places of spiritual significance can help us find our way forward again.

“Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” EXODUS 3:5

So they gave God a name I’ve learned to love: The Place. God is here, there, and everywhere. So it doesn’t matter where you are; God can meet you anywhere.

The purpose of prayer is not to give orders to God; the purpose is to get orders from God.

“Lord, teach us to pray.” LUKE 11:1

If we change the way we pray, everything changes. It changes the way we work, the way we parent, and the way we lead. It changes the way we prioritize and strategize. It changes the way we think, the way we feel, and the way we speak. Prayer changes everything from the inside out.

the thought of prayer should induce unbridled excitement because nothing is more potent than kneeling before God Almighty.

Don’t beat yourself up over past failures or present struggles. Simply do what the disciples did. Ask Jesus to help you, to teach you. Let their simple request become your modus operandi: “Lord, teach us to pray.”

Wisdom is knowing how much you don’t know. So you have to start there and ask God to teach you.

God wants to hear your voice, your words, your praise.

I love the story about the grandfather who walked by his granddaughter’s bedroom one night and overheard her praying the alphabet, literally. “Dear God, a, b, c, d, e, f, g.” She prayed all the way to “z” and said, “Amen.” The grandfather said, “Sweetie, why were you praying that way?” The granddaughter replied, “I didn’t know what to say so I figured I’d let God put the letters together however He saw fit.”

I have no idea what to say when I pray. And that’s OK.

If you don’t know where to start, or if you get stuck, go back to the Bible. Start reading, and God will start speaking. That’s when you need to stop reading and start praying. Words, phrases, or verses will jump off the page and into your spirit. You need to circle them in prayer. And don’t be in such a hurry to get through the Bible that you don’t get the Bible through you.

It doesn’t matter what you do; prayer is the key to your business, your practice, your career.

Don’t just brainstorm; praystorm.

Prayer is the difference between the best we can do and the best God can do.

Prayer is the difference between the best we can do and the best God can do.