The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears

by Mark Batterson

one man, an eccentric sage who lived outside the walls of Jerusalem, who dared to pray anyway. His name was Honi.

“Lord of the universe, I swear before Your great name that I will not move from this circle until You have shown mercy upon Your children.”

it was the authority of his tone.

the words flowed from the depth of his soul.

His prayer was resolute yet humble, confident yet meek, expectant yet unassuming. Then it happened.

The people rejoiced over each drop, but Honi wasn’t satisfied with a sprinkle.

“Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain that will fill cisterns, pits, and caverns.”

“Not for such rain have I prayed, but for rain of Your favor, blessing, and graciousness.”

Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. God isn’t offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers.

He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God. Why? Because they don’t require divine intervention.

There is nothing God loves more than keeping promises, answering prayers, performing miracles, and fulfilling dreams.

The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect

God is for you.

And one way or another, your small timid prayers or big audacious prayers will change the trajectory of your life and turn you into two totally different people.

future. Who you become is determined by how you pray.

inspire you to dream bigger dreams.

will challenge you to hold on to the promise God has put in your heart.

will inspire you to pray beyond yourself.

1960 will inspire you to think long and pray hard.

His command better be your wish.

the goal is glorifying God by drawing circles around the promises, miracles, and dreams He wants for you.

God gave me the courage to face my fears, swallow my pride, and try again.

That’s when I learned to close my eyes in worship because it was too depressing to open them.

I felt underqualified and overwhelmed,

raw dependence is the raw material out of which God performs His greatest miracles.

circle it. So one hot and humid August morning, I drew what would be my first prayer circle. It still ranks as the longest prayer walk I’ve ever done and the biggest prayer circle I’ve ever drawn.

That prayer circle had taken nearly three hours to complete because my prayer pace is slower than my normal pace,

And God has given us the privilege of influencing tens of thousands of people over the last decade and a half.

Miracles are the by-product of prayers that were prayed by you or for you.

You can live with holy anticipation because you never know how or when or where God is going to answer, but I promise you this: He will answer.

We pray out of our ignorance, but God answers out of His omniscience.

A collection of stories from the Talmud and Midrash, The Book of Legends contains the teachings of Jewish rabbis passed down from generation to generation.

prayer is the

spiritual inheritance

He couldn’t hear himself without his hearing aid

Few things leave as lasting an impression as hearing someone genuinely intercede for you.

Our prayers ne...

grandfather had been praying circles around me before I was even born.

when God delivered on a four-hundred-year-old promise by providing the first victory in the Promised Land.

The closer they got, the smaller they felt.

failed to enter the Promised Land because of fear.

f...

Your entire army is to march around the city once a day for six days. On the seventh day you are to march around the city seven times.

God

told the Israelite army to silently circle the city.

first time around, the soldiers must have

felt a little foolish.

But with each circle, their stride grew longe...

pop. They arose before dawn and started circling at six o’clock in the morning.

By nine o’clock, they began their final lap.