Have you ever wondered how prayer works?
I have many times. In fact ultimately we don't pray because we don't realize the way prayer works and the way God works in prayer. It isn't in pray that we change God but that God changes us. In through this change God responds not to our wants and every wish but to the requests made in faith to him as we align with Him and his plans.
I just finished reading this very challenging book called "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson. Actually I am read it for about the 3rd or 4th time. Here is a picture from one of the first time's I read it and posted about it on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152164377801772&set=a.413390446771.187948.823071771&type=3&theater
I posted this in January of 2014. This was just as we had finished up plans for the building in which we are not functioning. But we still didn't have a dime of the funds needed for this building that cost over $550,000. This book speaks of first century sage named Honi. In the first century he was called upon to pray because of a great drought that was taking place. So he drew a circle and stood in it and said he was not going to leave until it rained. God responded and it rained.
The author also gives us the example of the story of Jericho that we find in Joshua. And how God gave them this city not because they had a great battle plan but because they walked around the city and were obedient and most likely prayed as they walked. This books talks about the power of praying circles around things, praying though and not giving up when we don't get the response we want.
Back to our story. At the time we began to pray on January 1, 2014 this is what the land looked like:
We purchased this piece of property at the end of 2013 with only a prayer and a dream for what God could do on this piece of property.
(You can check out other pics here) We began 2014 spending 21 days praying and fasting and circling this property in prayer. We believed that God was going to do something big but we had no idea! I love the verse we find in Ephesians 3:20 that says "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us"
He certainly did more than we asked or imagined. We had prayed for God to provide the funding we need in 2-3 years and he did it in less than a few months. After this time of prayer we had a generous family who after sharing our vision with them wanted to donate the entire amount needed for the facility. Incredible!
About 8 months later this was this same piece of property:
This is what God does as we pray and believe in alignment with his plan. There is nothing impossible. God wants us to dream big and pray big!
To God be the Glory, great things He has done!
