Year of Circles

Year of Circles
     In this new year where new resolutions are being made by the dozen there is only one that I have made: that I would be a circle maker. I have been reading "The Circle Maker" by Mark Batterson and have been challenged and felt the Lord speaking to me that this needs to be a year of making circles and staying there until prayers have been answered.
     Circles?  That doesn't make sense. What do you mean? Short answer: A guy named Honi, in a drought, went out and made circle with his staff in the ground and literally prayed there until it began to rain.
      So for me that doesn't mean going outside making a circle with a stick I found and praying there until a girl walks up and wants to be my girlfriend (not that I don't pray for that often), but that I choose a couple of distinct attitudes and that I grab on to some things God has spoken to me personally(more than just a wife, but that is included).
     This involves just a couple things:
1. Hope. Jesus is our hope. Hope is the expectation of something good happening. Expecting and knowing that Jesus is working in my life is a huge relief, otherwise I'd be living this life thing alone. I choose to hold on to the promise that God has a future and hope in all areas of my life.
2. Gratitude. Making sure that I stay thankful for what God has given me already and thankful for the hope I have. Being an unthankful person can be one of the most off putting things about a person.
3. Persistence without exception. We all know how easy it is to quit.
     So as I pray I choose to hope in the things God has said, choosing to be grateful, and persist without exception.
     As I write I am reminded of the story in the bible where a lady keeps going to the king over and over and over. And the king, even though he is a bad king, gets tired of this lady's persistence and takes care of what she wants. How much more does our God want to answer our prayers being a good king.
     There is a lot to making circles but these are three that stood out to me. I hope that this year will be a year of answered prayers and that this year of circle making will be one of the best years ever.
Jesse