24/7 Prayer

I'm going to be really honest here for a sec.  Adoption is hard.  I don't write that to discourage anyone from adoption, I write it to be completely honest.  You are constantly fighting uphill battles, fighting for your child long before they are home. It can be wearing, and exhausting.  But then, then you see a sweet picture of the little face you're fighting for; and it seems to be bearable. I think of the day when we start to tell little man of his journey to our family.  We'll laugh (then, not now) of the 3 weeks we spent on the phone with our bank fighting for a letter that was so simple, so so easy, but yet-they couldn't (read:wouldn't) write it. Don't even get me started on that...but yes, 3 weeks and some not so graceful phone calls and conversations later, they wrote it. One day, we'll laugh. One day..not yet.

I've been reading this book called The Circle Maker by Mark Patterson.  It has changed the way I pray. The author asks a question towards the beginning of the book; "When was the last time your knees ached because you prayed for so long?"

Never. Just being real here.

Here's the deal. We have a big prayer. We've been drawing circles around it. We're ready. We're adopting from a country where adoption isn't all that common, it happens, but not as much as other countries.

We went away a few weekends ago and spent some time talking about our 'circle prayer'. We as in Justin and I. We want to pray boldly on behalf of our adoption and the families that we're in the process with.

As I read these quotes in the book I became humbled..

"If you aren't willing to circle the city, the wall will never fall"

"If you aren't willing to follow the star, you might miss out of the greatest adventure of your life"

"If you're unwilling to risk your reputation, you'll never build the boat like Noah or get out of the boat like Peter" 

"You cannot build God's reputation without risking yours"

What if the magi hadn't followed the star? It must not have been easy, and they probably looked silly to onlookers, but they did it.

We've shared with a few people what we're doing, and you know? It does sound crazy, and even I think we're kinda crazy, but oh well.

Those alarms are set and ready to go. On 12:21am Sunday July 21st, this 24 hour prayer will begin. It won't stop until little man is home. Crazy right? I know, I know. Whateve, call us what you want but we're doing it, and we like to invite you to too. We have a few people who we already told, and we can't wait to watch God show up, because we know He will.

We're praying for favor, favor of all government officials involved in this adoption both US and African.

For our sons country, it needs Jesus

For those who we will be in contact with, that they would see the urgency and need that is before us

That our son will come home..soon..sooner than timelines estimate. Because God's not in time, He created it. He controls it, He can make it happen.

There's significance to the time we choose, one day, you'll know why.

"There are higher hights and deeper depths in prayer, and God wants to take you there. He wants to take you places you have never been before.  There are new dialects.  There are new dimensions.  But if you want God to do something new in your life, you can't just do the same old thing. It will involve more sacrifice, but if you are willing to go there, you'll realize that you didn't sacrafice anything at all.  It wil involve more risk, but you are willing to go there, you'll realize that you didn't risk anything at all. Make the sacrifice. Take the risk. Draw the circle. "

-The Circle Maker

ps thank's Wynne for sharing this picture the other day

"Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”

-Luke 1:45

Will you pray with us?