“Drawing prayer circles begins with identifying your Jericho.”- Mark Batterson
Mark Batterson begins Chapter 3 (“The Jericho Miracle”) of The Circle Maker by stating that prayer is something people instinctively do when facing a challenge far beyond their ability. Pastor Batterson has no doubt the Israelites were praying as they silently circled Jericho.
Even though God had promised something impossible and had a nonsensical battle plan (from a human perspective), Jericho stands- and falls- as a testimony to the simple truth that if you keep circling the promise, ultimately God will deliver on it.
The miracle at Jericho, Mark encourages, challenges us to confidently circle the promises God has given to us. The first step, then, to drawing prayer circles begins with identifying your Jericho:
“You’ve got to define the promises God wants you to stake claim to, the miracles God wants you to believe for, and the dreams God wants you to pursue. Then you need to keep circling until God gives you what He wants and He wills. That’s the goal.”
The problem is, Pastor Batterson notes, that most of us don’t get what we want for the simple reason that we don’t know what we want. As Mark writes: “Instead of drawing circles, we draw blanks.”
That is why identifying your Jericho is essential!
Today’s question: Has your ministry downsizing or vocation loss led you to reassess identifying your Jericho? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “No longer a slave”
