I’ve written several posts about The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson over the last few months, including …
- The Circle Maker” 1.0
- The Circle Maker” 2.0
- The Circle Maker” 3.0
- The Circle Maker” 4.0
- Spiritual Priming and Shaping Culture
- Prayer Idiosyncrasies
In this final post, I thought I’d share some takeaways from the book, practices that have developed as I’ve read the book, or thoughts that I want to keep going forward.
1. “Stop, drop, and pray!”
This is a good reminder to pray in the moment. Especially when I encounter difficulty, my first response should be to pray!
2. “Fasting is a form of praying hard!”
I like what Batterson says about fasting (see 3.0). I especially like this statement. Fasting can be challenging; it helps to know that it is a form of praying hard!
3. “Change our prayer approach from as soon as possible to as long as it takes.”
This is a good reminder to keep praying. Oftentimes, the answer doesn’t come quickly; we must be persistent!
4. Pray 7 Laps.
As I mentioned in my post on Prayer Idiosyncrasies, I developed the practice of praying seven laps around the church’s worship area while I was reading the book (though the idea didn’t specifically come out of the book). This is a meaningful way for me to engage in prayer while I’m at the church.
5. Pray in chalk circles.
In the afterword of The Circle Maker, Batterson relates a story a friend told him after he had finished writing the book. Robert “Gypsy” Smith, a British evangelist born in 1860, was asked by a group of people how God could use them just as he used Gypsy. Smith said …
Go home. Lock yourself in your room. Kneel down in the middle of the floor, and with a piece of chalk draw a circle around yourself. There, on your knees, pray fervently and brokenly that God would start a revival within that prayer circle. (179)
One day, I drew a circle around myself in the back yard and prayed that revival would begin within the circle. I found it helpful to write my requests with key words or phrases. I plan to continue this practice from time to time. The first time, I involved Ethan and Sarah, who enjoyed the sidewalk chalk!
This is a book I’ll want to review from time to time. As I do, I’m sure there will be other takeaways along the way!