The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson

Week 9: Chapter 8 — Think Long

Read Chapter 8 of The Circle Maker. Primary Scripture: Proverbs 13:12; Psalm 37:4.

Batterson shifts to the importance of long-term vision — drawing prayer circles requires not just passion but patience, and this chapter asks you to think in decades, not days.

Discussion Questions

7 questions

1.Batterson introduces the idea of writing "life goals" — a list of dreams and prayers that span a lifetime. He personally has a list of hundreds of such goals. What is your initial reaction to that practice — inspiring, overwhelming, or something else?

2.Proverbs 13:12 says "hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life." Batterson uses this to affirm that God-given desires are not meant to be suppressed but pursued in prayer. How does this verse reframe the longing you feel when a prayer seems unanswered for a long time?

3.Psalm 37:4 — "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" — is central to this chapter. Batterson argues that delighting in God actually reshapes our desires. How has your time with God changed what you want?

4.The author challenges readers to think about the legacy of their prayers — not just what they want to see in their lifetime, but what they want to plant for the next generation. What is one prayer you could pray today that would be specifically for your children, grandchildren, or those who come after you?

5.Batterson describes how some of his biggest goals have taken twenty or thirty years to be fulfilled — and some are still in progress. Does a long time horizon make prayer feel more meaningful or less urgent to you? Why?

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Closing Prayer

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Father, we live in a culture of immediacy, and we confess that our prayers often have an unspoken expiration date. Give us the long vision of the psalmist who trusted you across a lifetime of ups and downs. Help us to delight in you so deeply that our desires are reshaped into yours — and then help us to pray for those desires with patience and faith across years and decades. May we be people who plant trees under whose shade others will sit. Amen.

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