Congratulations!

You have completed the 40 Day Prayer Challenge from Mark Batterson’s book, Draw the Circle! I hope this daily devotion over the last 40 days has been helpful to get you into the habit of prayer. More importantly, I hope you are developing a relationship with our awesome God as this is the beginning of a lifetime of watching God at work in your life.

I speak from personal experience when I say, He will answer your prayers! Never give up. Never stop praying as you may only be one day away from your dream, or miracle. Our God is an amazing and mighty God who can and will do more than we could ever ask or imagine.

100% of the prayers you don’t pray won’t get answered. -Mark Batterson

Keep circling!

Prayerfully, Paige

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Day 17 Do Not Delay

“O Lord, pay attention and act. Delay not, for your own sake, O my God.” Daniel 9:19

It is rare to have our prayers answered as quickly and easily as we would like them to be answered. Think about previous prayers you’ve prayed. There are likely some you’ve prayed and wanted to quit praying but those are the ones that have brought the greatest breakthroughs!

“Our most powerful prayers are hyperlinked to the promises of God. When we know we are praying the promises of God, we can pray with holy confidence. We don’t have to second-guess ourselves, because we know that God’s word does not return to Him empty (Isaiah 55:11). This doesn’t mean we can claim the promised of God out of context. But our problem typically isn’t over-claiming the promises of God; it’s under-claiming them. says Mark Batterson in his 40-day prayer challenge, Draw the Circle. If we stand on God’s word, God will stand by His word.”

We often tend to mishandle blessings if they come to quickly or too easily. We take credit for them or take them for granted. We must make sure we pray long and hard enough for God to receive all of the glory! And we have to stop praying ASAP (as soon as possible) prayers and start praying ALAT (as long as it takes) prayers. This doesn’t mean we force God’s hand because we can’t force God to do anything! It just means we’re praying with holy confidence, faith and belief that God will deliver on His promises (but on His timeline!)

God is never early. God is never late. God is always right on time. -Mark Batterson

If you are interested in a book on Bible Promises, they are available at any local or online bookstore. Simply ask for or search for “Bible Promises.”

Prayerfully, Paige

Day 16 Lord, Surprise Me

“The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going…” John 3:8

Have you ever surrendered your plans to God, truly relinquished all control, put all of your trust in Him, and asked God to surprise you? If you haven’t, I encourage you to do it with a genuine desire to see God do something unprecedented – something that supersedes your plans, something that you cannot take credit for or control. Trust in God’s timing and you will be surprised and humbled beyond words.

“God always has a holy surprise up His sovereign sleeve. And when we pray, He throws surprise parties!” says Mark Batterson. You never know how, when or where God will answer your prayers which adds to the excitement of praying and waiting. And the more you pray, the more you will experience holy surprises.

As Batterson states so well in Draw the Circle, “Every miracle, every blessing, every divine appointment has a genealogy. If we trace them back, we’ll find a genesis prayer that set in motion the sovereign act of God. Am I saying that God cannot do it without us? No, I’m not saying He cannot; I am simply saying He will not.

“In His omniscience and omnipotence, God has determined there are some things He will only do in response to prayer. The Bible puts it bluntly in James 4:2: ‘You do not have because you do not ask God.’ If we don’t ask, God can’t answer. It’s as simple as that. The greatest tragedy in life is the prayers that go unanswered because they go unasked. I don’t pretend to understand where the sovereignty of God and free will of humans meet, but it motivates me to work like it depends on me and pray like it depends on God. And if we do these two things, God will keep surprising us.

“If we follow Jesus, our lives will be anything but boring! He can orchestrate divine appointments with anyone, anytime, anywhere.”

Go ahead, ask Him to surprise you and get ready to celebrate!

Prayerfully, Paige

Day 12 Sow a Seed

“Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” Matthew 17:20

If we are going to understand the true potential of our faith, we must first understand the power of a seed. Mark Batterson states, “Jesus spoke of our faith in relation to a mustard seed, the smallest known seed in that culture. Like every seed, it needs to germinate, and this seed can take up to 10 days to germinate. Some plants, like some dreams, take a lot longer.

“Faith is what keeps those dreams alive, even when it seems as though they are dead and buried. But that is the very nature of seeds. They go underground. They disappear. And while it may seem like they are dead, they are not. They’re just germinating beneath the surface.

“If you saw a mustard seed but didn’t know what it was, you would have a hard time imagining what it would become. The potential is disguised in an awfully small package. Would you guess that an acorn would become an oak? You’d never guess that a black seed would become a green watermelon with a red interior that tastes amazing!”

Faith is much like a tiny seed. It may not look like much at first but we never know what it may become. In fact, a little faith goes a long way and even lasts an eternity.

“Praying is planting. Each prayer is like a seed that gets planted in the ground. It disappears for a season but it eventually bears fruit that blesses future generations. Even when we die, our prayers don’t.”

Today we live in an instant gratification world. We want to reap the second we sow. We want our prayers to be answered at the speed of light rather than the speed of a seed planted in the ground, and our dreams to come true overnight. But that isn’t the way it works with God. We must have the patience of the planter, the foresight of the farmer, and the mind-set of the sower. We can’t make things grow but if we plant and water, God promises to do the growing.

To sow a seed – keep praying, obeying, giving, serving and loving. If you keep sowing the right seeds, no matter how big or small your faith is, you will be blessed in God’s time and in God’s way!

If we do the little things like they are big things, then God will do the big things like they are little things. -Mark Batterson

Have a little faith.

Prayerfully, Paige

Congratulations!

You have completed the 40 Day Prayer Challenge from Mark Batterson’s book, Draw the Circle! I hope this daily devotion over the last 40 days has been helpful to get you into the habit of prayer. More importantly, I hope you are developing a relationship with our awesome God as this is the beginning of a lifetime of watching God at work in your life.

If you are local to the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and were unable to attend the first simulcast led by Mark Batterson, please join us on Tuesday, April 9, 6:15-8pm, Custer Road United Methodist Church, 6601 Custer Rd, Plano, TX, as we are showing The Circle Maker simulcast again and kicking off another 40 Day Prayer Challenge leading up to Pentecost! Visit crumc.org/circlemaker for more information or to pre-register. Mark Batterson’s books The Circle Maker and Draw the Circle will be available for purchase at the simulcast event.

100% of the prayers you don’t pray won’t get answered. -Mark Batterson

Keep circling!

Prayerfully, Paige