In case you forgot, I love to read.  Stacks of books seem to pile up all over the house — most of them half read.  Other women buy shoes; I buy books.  For 2012,  I am purposing to be a bit more intentional about my reading plan.  I hope to read 12 books and post a “Net Out” here on the blog using a  format similar to Michael Hyatt’s.

  The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson provides prayer principles that will transform your future if faithfully put into practice.  I am inspired and challenged by what I read this month — Batterson blends Scripture, history, and personal accounts into a compelling call to pray bold prayers — prayers that move mountains and make miracles happen.

Batterson proposes that we should draw prayer circles by “dreaming big,” “praying hard,” and “thinking long.”  The kind of prayers that God answers require a “leap of faith,” faithful persistence, and “putting feet to our faith” by partnering with God and getting our hands dirty.  Prayers are the foundation to an eternal legacy for our families — the seeds we plant through prayer are harvested long after we have passed on into glory. 

Here are some “take away” truths that captured my attention:

• Miracles are the fruit of faithful prayer:  “The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect — and they intersect when we draw a circle around the impossible situations in our lives and invite God to intervene” (p. 13).
• God’s Word is our prayer script:  “Prayer was never meant to be a monologue; it was meant to be a dialogue.  Think of Scripture as God’s part of the script; prayer is our part.  Scripture is God’s way of initiating a conversation; prayer is our response.  The paradigm shift happens when you realize that the Bible wasn’t meant to be read through; the Bible was meant to pray prayed through.  And if you pray through it, you’ll never run out of things to talk about. (p. 94).
• God’s answers to prayers will require our exercising even greater faith:  “God will keep putting you in situations that stretch your faith, and as your faith stretches, so do your dreams.  If you pass the test, you graduate to bigger and bigger dreams.  And it won’t get easier; it’ll get harder.  It won’t get less complicated; it’s get more complicated.  But complications are evidences of God’s blessing.  And if it’s from God, then it’s a holy complication” (p.111).

This book has motivated me to get on  my knees with greater fervency.  I had never read anything by Mark Batterson before, but I love his passion for God.  I needed to read this book.  It’s a “must read” that will change your life.

Up next will be Made to Crave by Lysa TerKeurst, a book that makes the connection between putting on our spiritual armor and practicing healthy living.  Want to read it with me?  I will be posting about it on March 30th.

I would love to hear about what you are reading.  Feel free to share in the comment section below to be entered in a Giveaway — I will be giving away a copy of each of these 2 great books.

One additional entry can be earned for each of these:

• Follow @3dLessons4Life on Twitter. Leave a comment indicating that you did.
• Tweet or Retweet about this contest giveaway.   Leave a comment indicating that you did.
• “Like” 3dLessons4Life’s Facebook page.
• Use the box on the top of the sidebar on this page to subscribe to this blog. Leave a comment indicating that you did.
• Grab the 3dLessons4Life button from the sidebar and add it to your blog. Leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can connect!

Just make sure to enter on or before March 9th to participate.  Thanks for stopping by!

UPDATE:  Kimberlee (a.k.a. Java Diva) and Jessica M. are the winners.  Congratulations!!!!

Linking up with like-minded sisters at Faith-Filled Fridays.

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