Welcome back! Today we are looking at Chapter 2, “The Legend of the Circle Maker.”
Please share in the comments your favorite parts of the chapter. Let’s get a good discussion going.
Here are my favorite sections of chapter 2.
“It’s imperative to distinguish between your will and God’s will. Every prayer, including your prayers for your children, must pass a twofold litmus test: your prayers must be in the will of God and for the glory of God.” (p. 20-21) Mark Batterson’s litmus can be applied to all our prayers not just for our children. How often do you think, is what I am praying about for God’s glory? That thought makes me stop and think.
“Prayer is the way we take our hands off and place our children in the hands of God.” (p. 21) The word picture here is just perfect. There have been many times while praying for one of my kids where I will visualize that I am actually carrying them to the foot of the cross and lying them there and stepping back. Praying does exactly that. It releases us from false control and puts our focus on the one who has the control.
“You can’t choose Christ for your kids, but you can pray that they choose Christ.” (p. 26) Once the Lord prompted me to begin praying for the children I would one day adopt back in 2000, incidentally the year Kate was born, the cry of my heart became that my kids would come to know Jesus.
“Drawing prayer circles is a metaphor that simply means ‘to pray without ceasing.'” (p. 29) Praying for our kids is more than the five minutes we spend in prayer in the morning, it’s on going, never-ending. It’s the whispers toward Heaven as we go throughout our day. I like this metaphor because as I am praying for my girls I can imagine a lasso of prayer encompassing them.
“And parents aren’t just praying that God will keep their kids safe; they are also praying that He will make them dangerous for His purposes so they can make a difference in their generation.” (p. 30) Wow! How would our kid’s lives look if we prayed He would “make them dangerous for His purposes?” I love, love, love this sentence.
“…prayer is the way we fight our battles. Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you.” (p. 33-34) Prayer is our weapon to war against the enemy! God is fighting for you and for your kids. And we know in the end, He wins!
Are you feeling encouraged? I sure am. Every time I go through this book I am blown away with something new. Today it has to be the reminder to pray “that He will make them dangerous for His purposes.” Join me in praying that for your kids today.
We will continue our study on Thursday. Stop by tomorrow for another Worship Wednesday.
