First Baptist Church of Herndon

Powerful Prayer

Linda Soller | Aug 13, 2012

I don't know if I have mentioned that we have a book group at FBC called the Lunch Bunch. We meet the second Tuesday of each month at 12:30 for about an hour to talk about our current book, or a portion of our current book. Some books just demand more discussion than 1 hour! We met in January to select our books for the year and we tried to mix it up a little, keep it interesting, and challenge ourselves. For the month of June we read – The Circle Maker – by Mark Batterson. Mark is Pastor of the National Community Church in Washington DC.  This is not his first book, but it is the first of his books that the Lunch Bunch has read.

The book begins with the Legend of Honi, the circle maker, who prayed boldly to God. Honi drew a circle and kneeled inside of that circle and began to pray. Honi prayed and it was answered, but not as he had hoped, so he prayed harder. Again his prayer was answered, but again not as he wanted. Honi prayed again, making it as clear as possible what he wanted from God, and the third time he got the answer he was seeking. There was some powerful praying going on in Honi’s circle. Our group liked the book, but we quickly admitted that some of us have a hard time with the concept of such powerful praying. For years, for lifetimes, we have been told to pray that God’s will be done. We wondered if you can really pray powerfully like Honi and still be seeking God’s will over our own. As we talked we realized that we might be missing a key point. God’s will is going to be done no matter, because he is God, so why not be honest and tell him what you really want. Why wouldn’t we want to own up to our hopes and dreams, God knows them anyway. Are we somehow trying to make an excuse for God when we say things like “if it is your will”? Is that our way of saying I am not expecting to get what I want so I will provide an excuse for God (it must not have been God’s will)? This is only one aspect of Mr. Batterson’s book, but it certainly provides food for thought.

Prayer is such a personal method of communication and we owe it to God to be real with him. What is powerful prayer? Well I think, if it is nothing else, it is honest and heartfelt. It must be offered in all circumstances, and it must be offered from a place of love. Sometimes we use strong words with those we love. Sometimes we are disappointed in those we love and say so. It is not like God is never disappointed in us, but his love and forgiveness continues. As you consider powerful prayer ask yourself, when is the last time you were “real” in your prayers to God. Have a great week :o)  

Linda