Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

THE CIRCLE MAKER by Mark Batterson is a book about prayer and faith which will encourage, challenge and motivate the believer. Lead pastor of National Community Church, Mark writes with insight and clarity about the importance of "dreaming big, praying hard and thinking long". The story begins with Honi, a legendary Jewish figure from 1 BC, whose faith and prayer saved the generation before Jesus by calling upon the God of heaven and earth to provide rain in time of near- fatal drought. Honi drew a circle in the desert sand, took his place, and called upon God to let it rain. And rain it did! Mark calls upon believers to pray big prayers and draw circles in holy desperation for more of God in our lives: for ourselves, our children and our communities. Those prayers, when mixed with faith, are seeds which bear fruit, even in the generations to come. He exhorts the believer to pray prayers which honor God's greatness, His Goodness, His omnipotence, His desire to answer as a loving Father. Draw circles around God's promises. They are for us. Pray them through and wait expectantly. Praying hard is key: "Work like the outcome depends upon you and pray like the outcome depends upon God." "Prayers are prophecies. They are the best predictors of your spiritual future...Ultimately, the transcript of your prayers becomes the script of your life." Mark has a gift for speaking to this generation. No one connects with young people in more relevant or impactful ways than he does. For example, Mark writes, "Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God." Suddenly, my Bible is underscored with hot links which we double-click by prayer. Who'd have thought? This book is built upon faith. "Every prayer is a time capsule. You never know when or where or how God is going to answer it, but He will answer it. There is no expiration date, and there are no exceptions. God answers prayer. Period." There are only a couple of Christian books I read time and again, next to my Bible: The Collected Works of Smith Wigglesworth and Pursuit of God by AW Tozer. The Circle Maker has been added to this company. This book is a shout out to this generation to call upon God. Let it rain!