Have you heard of the Good Morning Girls?
If you haven't I encourage you to go check them out.
They have Bible studies throughout the year and I actually lead a group of women in each study that we do. We have a closed Facebook group where we post our thoughts and prayer requests. It is so inspiring to talk to those ladies and pray alongside them.
In my first Bible Study to lead one of us found the book Praying Circles Around your Children by Mark Batterson for free..so I decided to check it out. Right now on Amazon it is only $1.99..so go grab it!! It is definitely worth $1.99!
Loved it! Lately I have been reading a lot of self help books. I am not sure why..God knows I guess..because this book blessed me.
I did a review on Hayley Morgan's book "The No Brainer Blog" here if you would like to check that out too.
This book had so much good info..I am going to try to keep this short...
I said I will TRY.. no promises and NO Apologies! :)
This book is a book that you could read in a couple days. I have read it..then read it again to highlight a few things I want to remember and post about.
If you have kids of your own..or even if you babysit kids…or lets go as far as if you even know any kids..you know that they are a moving target! Who knows what is going through their brain or what they are planning to do next. I love in the book that Mark Batterson lets us know that we aren’t supposed to be perfect parents..no one is. He says once you get your kids figured out as babies..they turn into a toddler..then a preschooler..teenager…adult…then they have kids..What! How are we supposed to keep up? Keep patience? What if I make a mistake? What if I want to throw a temper tantrum?
One thing that we CAN do is “make sure our Heavenly Father hears about tour kids daily!”
Isn't that great!? I CAN do that..if I don't put veggies on our plate every night for supper or watch to much TV one day..I know at least my Heavenly Father will hear about my child every day!
If and shall I say when we do make a mistake…apologize. That isn’t wrong of you to apologize to your kids. That is how they learn to apologize for when they have done something wrong. I have apologized to my daughter plenty of times and she is only four! I have also seen grown adults who can NOT apologize even when they know they are wrong...maybe they were never taught. Hmm?
The most important words in my house is “ please, sorry, thank you and I love you!” Mark hits on those to..those words can make you a good friend, a good spouse, and a person of good character in your life.
Prayer turns ordinary parents into prophets who shape the desinies of their children, grandchildren and every generation that follows
I am positive most people has had a grandma somewhere back in the line that has prayed until she fell asleep at night..Marks believes that every blessing, every breakthrough, every miracle traces back to the prayers that were prayed by you or for you
So start that legacy in your own family…start praying for breakthoughs when needed..miracles to happen and blessings to fall upon your generations to come!
I will tell you I go to church every Sunday and Wednesday…and would be there more if they had more services and there is nothing like the feeling of hearing some else pray for you and your needs..even if they have no idea what is going on..just to hear them pray for me..for God to help me..is powerful.
Here is a question you might have..when and how do I become a praying parent? After work, cleaning, laundry, cooking, dishes, baths, bedtime ...I fall out asleep before my head hits the pillow..When do I have time to pray?
You aren’t a praying parent by default. You do it by design, by desire, by discipline…it takes sheer determination…if you determin to circle your children in prayer you will shape their destinies and your pryaers will live on in their lives long after you die.
Pray while your cooking and cleaning...Pray with your children during bedtimes...You can do it!
What is it about circles?
There is nothing magical about physically circling something in prayer but there is something biblical about it.
Have you heard of Honi?
He is in the Bible..shortly..but he is there and he is inspirational!
There was a time where people were praying for rain..they needed it! They had prayed but quickly gave up hope. Honi was a scholar and had a great relationship with God..so the people asked Honi to pray for rain. So Honi, the confident man he was in His God's ability, took his stick and drew a circle around himself and prayed for rain. In his prayer he told God that he was not going to leave that circle until it rained. Now that is dedication. I'm sure he sat there for a while..to test his faith. After a while..it started to sprinkle. Honi said No..I said rain! I'm not leaving this circle until it RAINS! Long story made short...it rained.
When we pray ..we want answers..like now. If we don’t get some kind of answer..soon..yes, no…something..we give up. We need to continue that circle of prayer until we get an answer. A circle never ends..pray without ceasing..pray until God answers…don’t just pray for…pray through until you know what to do!
When you become a praying parent ..your children will follow in your footsteps..You will become their prophet. Give them moments to pray ...Children has a special relationship with God and they will surprise you at what they say one time or another.
Let them pray how they want..for whatever they want..guide them but let them talk to Jesus too. We pray for our dog's health every night.. You know what? We have never had a sick dog!
If you teach your children to pray..You have made a prayer circle. Their simple innocent words can make the most sense sometimes in a world full of chaos. Don't just involve your children...Make a prayer circle with other moms.
One word of advice to parents: form a prayer circle with other parents, Covenant to pray for each other's children's. Why parents? Because no one can pray for children like parents! They have similar heartbreaks and hopes. They love their children just like you love yours.
One example that Mark Batterson gives is Aaron and Hur. Aaron and Hur were the ones who held up Moses arms during battle when Moses had lost his strength. When Moses arms lowered the Isrealite army lost ground..but as long as his hands were lifted towards Jesus the army was victorious. Let others be your Aaron and Hur..Be an Aaron or Hur to someone else! We all need someone like that!
Here are a few of my favorite quotes from this book:
Prayer is the way we write the future. IT is the difference between letting things happen and making things happen.
The purpose of prayer is not to outline our agenda to God, the purpose is to get into God's presence and get God's agenda for us.
100 percent of the prayers you don't pray ..won't get answered
I know this wasn't exactly short...but if you made it this far..it is over.. and Thank you for reading!!
I hope I encouraged you to get this book..and if you are wondering ...even with all I just posted about..I still didn't give away all the book goodies! So go grab it and let me know what you think!
