An ebenezer moment

“When you accomplish a God-ordained goal, it is an ebenezer moment.”- Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson concludes his discussion of ten steps to goal-setting, as found in Chapter 15 of The Circle Maker.

7.  Celebrate along the way.  Accomplishing a goal is cause for celebration.  Mark believes we should celebrate an answer to prayer, an ebenezer moment, with the same intensity with which we pray.  Pastor Batterson writes that the Hebrew word ebenezer means “thus far the Lord has helped us.”  Ebenezer is one of Mark’s favorite words.

8.  Dream big.  Your life goals will be big and small, long-term and short-term.  Mark emphasizes that you need some God-sized goals in your life that would qualify as crazy, because big goals turn you into a big person.

9.  Think long.  To dream big, you need to think long.  Pastor Batterson remind us of the question Honi the circle maker grappled with his whole life: Is it possible for a man to dream continuously for seventy years?  Mark states that is possible if you set goals that take a lifetime to achieve.  He explains why goal-setting is good stewardship:

“Instead of letting things happen, goals help us make things happen.  Instead of living by default, goals help us live by design.  Instead of living out of memory, goals help us live out of imagination.”

10.  Pray hard.  Mark stresses that goal-setting begins and ends with prayer: “God-ordained goals are conceived in the context of prayer, and prayer is what brings them to full term.”  Circling your goals creates and helps you recognize God-ordained opportunities.

Today’s question: Which of Marks’ ten steps to goal-setting resonate most with you?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Keep circling”

 

An ebenezer moment

Prayer is priming

“Prayer is priming.  Prayer puts us in a spiritual frame of mind.  Prayer helps us see and seize the God-ordained opportunities that are around us all the time.”- Mark Batterson

Mark Batterson continues Chapter 13 of The Circle Maker by telling us on of his summer jobs during college was painting.  Although he only lasted a week before he was deservedly downsized, Mark learned one very important thing: priming is essential to painting.  One might think using a primer is time-consuming hard labor.  In actuality, priming increases quality while decreasing the quantity of work.

New York University psychologist John Bargh has conducted a series of priming experiments over the last few decades.  In one experiment involving a five-minute scrambled-sentence test, the first test group had sentences sprinkled with rude words.  The second test group had sentences sprinkled with polite words.  Following the test, each student group was asked to talk to the person running the experiment.  When the students arrived, the examiner strategically was engaged in conversation with an actor.

Bargh found that the group primed with rude words interrupted after five minutes of waiting, while 82% of those primed with polite words never interrupted at all (ten minute maximum wait).  Pastor Batterson observes that our minds subconsciously are constantly primed by everything that is happening.  As Christians, we need to be good stewards of what we allow ourselves to see and hear.  Mark explains why he believes in starting the day with God’s Word:

“It [God’s Word] doesn’t just prime our senses; it also primes our hearts.  It doesn’t just prime us spiritually; it also primes us emotionally and relationally.  When we read the words that the Holy Spirit inspired, it tunes us to His voice and primes us for His promptings.”

Today’s question: How does the concept that “prayer is priming” help structure your day?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Establish a daily rhythm”

Prayer is priming