If you are a regular listener, you may have heard Glenn credit Pastor Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker: Praying Circles Around Your Biggest Dreams and Greatest Fears, with changing his life. On Wednesday’s Glenn Beck Program, Batterson joined Glenn to discuss the idea of “circling” – or consistently praying until God’s will is accomplished – and why he felt compelled to write this book. Batterson also called into this morning’s radio program, and Glenn encouraged his listeners to consider reading the book and joining him in a 40 Day and 40 Night Challenge.
The Circle Maker was published two years ago, but Glenn discovered the book more recently. He asked Batterson to elaborate on what prompted him to write the book.
“So you put this book out two years ago, and I can tell by the way you wrote it, you didn't have any idea this would be a big book,” Glenn said. “You felt compelled to write it, and you have seen people change from this.”
“It's been remarkable to hear the stories,” Batterson said. “I think part of it is, you know, is there anybody who feels like they pray too much? Is there anybody who feels they pray too effectively? No one bats 1,000… Those who don't even profess to believe in God have asked me to pray for them. And so I have begun to hear those stories of the way that people are praying: Teachers circling classrooms. Doctors circling hospitals... I was doing an NFL chapel, and the coach pulled me aside said, ‘I circle the stadium before every home game.’ I have had several members of Congress say, ‘We are circling the Capitol in prayer.’ That's exactly what we need to do.”
Batterson cautioned, however, that we must be careful to not equate physically circling something with prayer.
“It is not just about physically circling something,” he explained. “Thousands of times I pray Luke 52 for my kids: Grow in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man. That's how I circle my kids, with that prayer. As they grow, it is so fun, then, to see how God answers those prayers.”
Glenn once again thanked Batterson for writing the book and speaking so openly about prayer. In the aftermath of the 2010 Restoring Honor Rally, Glenn asked the audience to join him in a 40 Day and 40 Night Challenge that served as a blueprint for national survival. This morning, Glenn asked his listeners to consider another challenge.
“I urge you to get The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson… and look at God a different way,” Glenn concluded. “We'll talk again in a couple of weeks, and I will just ask you to join me in doing a 40-day challenge. And let's just change the way we think and change the way we behave and be far better people than we are today.”
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