You have heard the whisper: bring Jesus to the school down the street. You know the obstacles: separation of church and state. You know the stories: students do not have hope and are hurting. You know how to get started: draw a circle around the school down the street and pray.
I understand your first question, “What if nothing happens? And I do not hear anything? And I find no direction?” There is a lot of ‘logic’ that goes into the first moments of circle making prayer. That is why it is important to jump in with both feet. Be confident that God is behind the whisper you’ve heard. Mark Batterson lists out five areas that he worked through in drawing his first circle.
1. Promises in Scripture
2. Impossible situations
3. Impossible people
4. Goals
5. Pieces of property
With First Priority, it is obvious that we circle property for the sake of reaching the people who walk inside that circle everyday. The top four of Mark’s list can help direct your prayers for that circle. Maybe the principal has been stiff arming the church (historically) and will not willingly let you in the building. Maybe there has been a string of suicides by students in that school and you need to pray scripture over them. You know your area, the people who lead in the school system, and the whisper you heard when God told you to reach out to the school. It is now time to draw your circle around the school. Pray. Do not move. Listen. I feel the same way you do about this. Mark Batterson himself states it well, “Under-qualified and overwhelmed” with the opportunity.
Check out The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson for more insights to this topic. Don’t have the book? I’d like the opportunity to send you a copy. Let me know.
“Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”
Habakkuk 3:2
