The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson is an excellent book on prayer. However, I must confess that I haven’t read it all, but my reasons for not finishing the book are mostly cultural. I did read about the first fifty pages and then I flicked through the remained of the book, reading bits and pieces here and there.
The book is well-written, filled with great stories and examples, yet I had trouble relating. The author is from a big church in a big American city. I attend a small church in a small Australian town. I found the cultural gap too much. He talked about pulling a group of people together to pray as if it were the easiest thing in the world. Yet, where I live this is quite difficult.
One of the other difficulties I had was with the metaphor of the circle maker. Batterson tells the story of how the term came into being. He then uses it to equate with praying fervently and persistently, at least, that’s how I think he wants the metaphor understood. I never felt completely satisfied that he had explained this. The initial story he told of a Circle Maker seemed to be exceptional, rather than prescriptive.
Nevertheless, if you want to be encourage in prayer, and can handle the cultural slant, this would be a good read.
