Draw The Circle
Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.
Psalm 32:8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Isaiah 40:31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand, then, to God.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
James 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
I have been reading a book by Mark Batterson called “Draw the Circle” which refers to drawing a circle around one of God’s promises and praying it, while reminding God of His promise. Mark Batterson is the lead pastor in Washington DC of the National Community Church, and I believe there are 8 campuses. He also felt led to purchase an older building a few years ago, which was decrepit and had been used as a crack house. He wanted to buy it and turn it into a coffeehouse where folks could stop in, grab a coffee and a table, and listen to someone of the workers talk about the love of our Savior, our Lord.
I truly enjoyed his writing and the premise, and then pulled up a few Youtube vids of his sermons. But he pointed out to me more promises than I was aware of. As often as I have gone through the bible, I find things I missed the first few times through; so it is with all these promises, or many of them. But I liked the idea of drawing a circle around something you were praying for. I have a couple of issues within my family I am concerned about and have decided to try this philosophy. I asked a couple of my prayer warrior friends to also pray for these things, but now I see what it looks like with the issue surrounded within a circle of God’s promise . . . The answers to the issues have not totally been answered, but there is improvement for one of them, and because it is an illness, it’s great to see the person improving.
I also want to challenge myself to find different things to praise Him for daily. Easy to praise some things—good health, have a home, great family, good friends, although I can complain about eyesight when there are no readers nearby, I am grateful for my eye health, thankful I live here and can enjoy the views here. But there is so much more, and I think it’s important for me to let Him know these other things—maybe my history, past experiences, travels, memories, my ancestors….there’s a myriad of things for me to be grateful for, and I think I don’t dig deep enough to thank Him, and be more sincere. If I am not praising Him for at least two events that occur throughout my day, then I think that means I am sliding into complacency. I don’t want that. He is worthy of all of me and all my praise; I want to dig deeper to thank Him for all the times He saved me from troubles of my own making, and gave me good, strong family and friends who could supply much of the human hugs and shoulders I might have needed at different times.
I am blessed and thankful, and I am going to look for more promises and if fitting, circle them in my prayers, and I am going to dig deeper for praise and the many reasons I have to thank Him. Glad this book also opened my eyes to more of You.
WOW! I printed a BUNCH of promises above. Betting you can find more, and make them specific to your needs. Feel free to let me know. Let me know if you like the circle the promise idea for something you specifically need fulfilled.
Praise for all You have done for me and ‘mybellaviews.’
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