Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker and pastor of
National Community Church in Washington D.C. has written a timely and
insightful on prayer and your children called Praying Circles around Your
Children. Batterson in the opening
chapter spells out for parents in practical ways some basic truths: one, you
will make a lot of mistakes and second, “your worst mistakes double as your
greatest opportunities” (10-11).
Batterson goes onto state that “every blessing, every breakthrough,
every miracles traces back to the prayers that were prayed by you or for you”
(12). In other words, prayer is the
heartbeat of what it means to be a parent but also to be a believer. I think his advice at the end of the chapter
was very good in that you don’t become a praying parent by a whim but by
constant determination, desire to and discipline. Lest we forget, the discipline of prayer is
not to be taken lightly.
While I am not crazy about the legend of Honi the rain
maker, I think from a broader perspective that Batterson is trying to instill
the truth that prayer is not to waver with circumstances but be offered
faithfully and boldly. He writes, “There
is nothing magical about physically circling something in prayer, but there is
something biblical about it….Drawing prayer circles is a metaphor that simple
means “to pray without ceasing.” It’s praying until God answers” (29). While I don’t necessarily think that our
prayers are prophecies that pave the future for our family, there is something
powerful and transformative about unceasing prayer. Praying for our kids can be a dangerous thing
too, as we pray that they will make a difference in the world. Even more, as we study the Scriptures and
pray for our kids, we begin to see what the most important things God says
about our children and their future.
I also thought the chapter on prayer mantras was good. Finding what makes our child tick, what is
their heartbeat of life alongside finding a life verse or verses for them
reminds us of God’s work in their lives.
Finding where our children’s God given gifts and God ordained passions
intersect is definitely part of our duty as parents (71). The difficulty is today’s world is finding
out what are their gifts and passions are and what piques their interest for
other reasons that are not necessarily their gifts and passions. Having our kids pray with us involves us
seeing how God is already working in their hearts.
I’m not sure exactly what Batterson was trying to say when
he said that “Our prayers are prophecies and that we can write our children’s
future through prayer.” I don’t think
prayer is prophecy but rather a relationship with the Triune God that seeks to
align ourselves with the values of the kingdom.
Yet, I do think that our prayers for our children help us to see a
vision of how our children might serve him, use their gifts for his glory.
Thanks to Zondervan for the review copy of this book in
exchange for review.
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