Praying THROUGH not OUT!

I have been reading Mark Batterson's book, "Draw the Circle:The 40 Day Challenge" for Lent.  Today, day 4, was profound!

"Sometimes the purpose of prayer is to get us out of circumstances, but more often than not, the purpose of prayer is to get us through them.'

"There is a big difference between praying away and praying through.  We're often so anxious to get out of difficult, painful, or challenging situations that we fail to grow throug them.  We're so fixated on getting out of them that we don't get anything out of them.  We fail to learn lessons God is trying to teach us or cultivate the character God is trying to grow in us.  We're so focused on God changing our circumstances that we never allow God to change us!"

"Can our prayers change our circumstances?  Absolutely!  But when our circumstances don't change, it's often an indication that God is trying to change us.  The primary purpose of prayer is not to change circumstances, the primary purpose of prayer is to change us!"

"Sometimes God delivers us from our problems; sometimes God delivers us through our problems."

I shared this book with my friend, Stephen Slocum and we are reading it together through Lent.  Here are some reflections Stephen shared on Facebook this morning on this chapter...

"Sometimes God Delivers us from our Problems: Sometimes God Delivers us through our Problems (Mark Batterson ).....How true for me for so many years. God please help me pass this test, God I need Extra Money this week , God please I need my daughter's cold to go away......God I need, I need, I need, but God is not in the need business nor is he an order form. I'm in a Battle with Cancer God I need you to Clear Me of Cancer. ( WRONG PRAYER ) God please halp me through my battle, clear my pain, help me drink this cup of water, medicine, food, help me through the battle and come out the other End Victorious . See friends I'm getting the full ride all my numbers are normal now, eating solids, walking, etc 30 Days ago Bed Ridden, in and out of the Hospital.  Praise God and His Glory for what he is doing is healing me by letting me experience all the symptons of what a Cancer Patient Goes Through.  I love it!  So next time you pray ( PRAY THROUGH ( NO PRAYING AWAY ) GOD BLESS <><"