The Circle Maker - dream big, pray hard, think long Student Edition - Mark and Parker Batterson

The Circle Maker
dream big, pray hard, think long
Student Edition
Mark Batterson and
Parker Batterson
Zondervan
eISBN 9780310725145
ISBN 9780310725138

This is the second book by Mark Batterson that I have read in under a month. It was such an amazing read that when I finished it I flipped back to the first page and started reading it again, this time taking more time to digest and process the material. Though this student edition is co-written with his son Parker Batterson, it was also a great read as an adult. Now I must admit I have not read The Circle Maker (yet!) but this book was done in an amazing way and I highly recommend it. The sections in the book are:

1.    The Legend of the Circle Maker
2.    Circle makers
3.    The Jericho Miracle
4.    Praying Through

The First Circle - Dream Big
5.    Cloudy with a Chance of Quail
6.    You Can't Never Always Sometimes Tell
7.    The Solution to Ten Thousand Problems

The Second Circle - Pray Hard
8.    Persistence Quotient
9.    The Favor of Him Who Dwells in the Burning Bush
          Game of Chicken
10.     No Answer

The Third Circle - Think Long
11.    Long and Boring
12.    The Greatest of them All
13.    The Speed prayer
14.    Life Goal List
 

Keep Circling
15.    Now There Was One
Appendix
Notes

Almost every chapter has a personal example that starts with an ideal, goal or prompting from God. Then there is a comparison to a biblical case or story. Then it ends with circling back and Mark and Parker telling us how it came to pass. Each chapter also has three questions that can be used for group discussion, or personal reflection. These questions will help you to go deeper with the material being presented and help you examine your life and practices. This book will confront how you see prayer, what you pray for, how you pray.

Mark states: "Prayer was never meant to be a one-sided conversation; it was meant to be a dialogue! Think of Scripture as God's part of the script; and prayer our part." p. 86 Like many of the biblical stories we have a part to play, we need to call out from the side of the road, we need to lower our friends through the hole in the roof, we need to pick up our mat and walk. All depending on what God shows us and our obedience in following him. "The common denominator in each of these stories is holy desperation. People took desperate measures to get to God, and God honored them for it. Nothing has changed. God is still honoring spiritual desperadoes who crash parties and climb trees. God is still honoring those who defy the way things should be with their bold prayers. God is still honoring those who pray with bravery and stubbornness." So pick up the book, read and pray and become a prayer warrior pursuing God and his will, and his solutions to what life throws at you.

Books by Mark Batterson:
The Circle Maker
The Circle Maker Enhanced eBook Edition
Praying Circles Around Your Children
Draw the Circle: The 40 Day Prayer Challenge
The Circle Maker Student Edition: dream big, pray hard, think long
The Circle Maker for Kids
Be A Circle Maker
All In
All In Student Edition
Going All In
Praying Circles Around The Lives of Your Children
Jack Staples and the Ring of Time (With Joel Clark)
Primal
Soul Print
ID: The True You
In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day
Wild Goose Chase: Reclaim the Adventure of Pursuing God
Chase the Lion Stepping Confidently Into the Unknown