Mark batterson quotes

Faith is unlearning this senseless worries and misguided beliefs that keep us captive. It is far more complex than simply modifying behavior. Faith is rewiring the human brain. We are literally upgrading our minds by downloading the mind of Christ.

The greatest tragedy in life is the prayers that go unanswered simply because they go unasked.

I’ve discovered that if I don’t take the first step, God generally won’t reveal the next step.

If you're bored, one thing is for sure: You're not following in the footsteps of Christ.

You need to circle the goals God wants you to go after, the promises God wants you to claim, and the dreams God wants you to pursue. And once you spell Jericho, you need to circle it in prayer. Then you need to keep circling until the walls come tumbling down.

You are only one defining decision away from a totally different life!

God won't answer 100% of the prayers we don't pray.

Faith doesn't reduce uncertainty. Faith embraces uncertainty.

If you want God to do something new in you, you cannot keep doing the same old thing. You have to do something different. And if you do, God will create new capacities within you. There will be new gifts and new revelations. But you've got to pray the price. You'll get out of this what you put into it.

One God idea is worth more than a thousand good ideas.

God blesses us more so that we can be more of a blessing to others.

As I look back on my own life, I recognize this simple truth: The greatest opportunities were the scariest lions. Part of me has wanted to play it safe, but I’ve learned that taking no risks is the greatest risk of all.

To me, growing into spiritual maturity is becoming less self-conscious and more God-conscious.

When you open your Bible, God opens His mouth.

If you plant yourself in one place and let your roots grow deep, there is no limit to what God can do.

Don’t accumulate possessions; accumulate experiences!

Prayers are prophecies. They are the best predictors of your spiritual future. Who you become is determined by how you pray. Ultimately, the transcript of your prayers becomes the script of your life.

You don’t need to seek opportunity. All you have to do is seek God. And if you seek God, opportunity will seek you.

Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn't chase. You will look back longingly on risks not taken, opportunities not seized, and dreams not pursued. Stop running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.

If you seek answers you won't find them, but if you seek God, the answers will find you.

Look in the rearview mirror long enough & you'll see that God has purposely positioned you everywhere you've been-even when it seemed you'd taken a wrong turn.

Each prayer is like a seed that gets planted in the ground. It disappears for a season, but it eventually bears fruit that blesses future generations. In fact, our prayers bear fruit forever.

Because you know He can, you can pray with holy confidence.

You'll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent. Prayer is your highest privilege as a parent. ...Prayer turns ordinary parents into prophets who shape the destinies of their children, grandchildren, and every generation that follows. ...Your prayers for your children are the greatest legacy you can leave.

More often than not, the only thing between you and your dream is a rational excuse.

Do you trust that God is for you even when He doesn’t give you what you asked for?

Whatever you don't turn into PRAISE turns into PRIDE.

If you are BIG ENOUGH for your dream, your dream isn't BIG ENOUGH for God.

The gospel costs nothing. We cannot buy it or earn it. It can only be received as a free gift, compliments of God’s grace. So it costs nothing, but it demands everything. And that is where most of us get stuck — spiritual no-man’s-land. We’re too Christian to enjoy sin and too sinful to enjoy Christ. We’ve got just enough Jesus to be informed, but not enough to be transformed.

You don't have to do everything right as a parent, but there is one thing you cannot afford to get wrong. That one thing is prayer. You'll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent. Prayer is your highest privilege as a parent. There is nothing you can do that will have a higher return on investment. In fact, the dividends are eternal.

The antidote for fear of failure is not success but small doses of failure.

Instead of complaining about the current state of affairs, we need to offer better alternatives. [...] we need to stop cursing the darkness and start lighting some candles!

You can delegate a lot of things, but you can't delegate PRAYER. I'd rather have one GOD idea than a thousand GOOD ideas.

You cannot be in the presence of God and be bored at the same time. For that matter, you cannot be in the will of God and be bored at the same time.

Prayer turns ordinary parents into prophets who shape the destinies of their children, grandchildren, and every generation that follows.

If you wait for perfect conditions to seize an opportunity, you'll be waiting till the day you die.

Jesus didn't die to make us safe. He died to make us dangerous! Faithfulness isn't holding the fort. It's storming the gates of hell with the light and love of Jesus Christ.

Over the years I've grown more comfortable with making people uncomfortable because that is when growth can happen. You need a little conflict. You need a little tension. And that is part of my calling. A little tough love goes a long way!

Drawing prayer circles isn’t about proving yourself to God; it’s about giving God an opportunity to prove Himself to you. Just in case you have forgotten — and to ensure that you always remember — God is for you. I can’t promise that God will always give you the answer you want. I can’t promise that He’ll answer on your timeline. But I can promise this: He answers every prayer, and He keeps every promise. That is who He is. That is what He does.

Half of spiritual growth is learning what we don't know. The other half is unlearning what we do know.

The more problems you have, the more potential you have to help people. One of the most paralyzing mistakes we make is thinking that our problems somehow disqualify us from being used by God. [...] If you don’t have any problems, you don’t have any potential. Here’s why. Your ability to help others heal is limited to where you’ve been wounded.

God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go.

One of the truest tests of spiritual maturity is seeing the miraculous in the monotonous.

May you keep dreaming until the day you die. May imagination overtake memory. May you die young at a ripe old age.

When did we start believing God wants to send us to safe places to do easy things?

You are someone else's miracle! God is setting up divine appointments and it is our job to keep them

Worship is forgetting about what's wrong with you and remembering what's right with God.

Ultimately, the transcript of your prayers becomes the script of your life.

I love to read. I remember hearing that the average author takes two years to write a book. So when I read a book, I feel like I am getting two years of life experiences.

If we do the little things like they are big things, then God will do the big things like they are little things.

Sometimes we're too focused on getting out of a situation that we don't think about what we can get out of the situation.

It’s much easier to act like a Christian than it is to react like one!

Sure, you can choose the safety and predictability of the cage, forfeiting the adventure God has destined for you. But you won't be the only one missing out or losing out. When you lack the courage to chase the Wild Goose, the opportunity costs are staggering. Who might not hear about the love of God if you don't seize the opportunity to tell them? Who might be stuck in poverty, stuck in ignorance, stuck in pain if you're not there to help free them? Where might the advance of God's kingdom in the world stall out because you weren't there on the front lines?

God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

We’re too Christian to enjoy sin and too sinful to enjoy Christ. We’ve got just enough Jesus to be informed, but not enough to be transformed.

Vision beyond your resources? Don't let fear dictate your decisions. If your vision is God-given, it will most definitely be beyond your ability and beyond your resources. The God who gives the vision is the same God who makes provision.

And when you pray to God regularly, irregular things happen on a regular basis.

Prayer is the difference between the best we can do and the best God can do.

We start dying when we have nothing worth living for. And we don't really start living until we find something worth dying for

Most God-ordained dreams die because we are not willing to do something that seems illogical

Prayer is not about letting God know your will; it's about completely submitting to him. You die to yourself.

God is not a genie in a bottle, and your wish is not His command. His command better be your wish.

Most Christians are educated way beyond the level of their obedience already! We don’t need to know more, we need to do more.

The key to getting out of the boat is hearing the voice of God.

The only God-ordained fear is the fear of God, and if we fear Him, we don't have to fear anyone or anything else

The more you’re willing to risk, the more God can use you. And if you’re willing to risk everything, then there is nothing God can’t do in you and through you.

Maybe it's time to stop creating God in our image and let Him create you in His.

I just don't think pastors should turn their pulpits into public policy platforms. It cheapens the gospel. Our congregation doesn't need another political opinion. They need spiritual revelation. They don't need to think about politics on the weekend. They need to be reminded to seek first the kingdom of God.

Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers… The bigger the circle we draw, the better, because God gets more glory. The greatest moments in life are the miraculous moments when human impotence and divine omnipotence intersect — and they intersect when we draw a circle around the impossible situations in our lives and invite God to intervene.

We pray as if God’s chief objective is our personal comfort. It’s not. God’s chief objective is His glory.

Praying through is all about CONSISTENCY and INTENSITY. It's 'all-nighter' prayer. It just won't take 'NO' for an answer!

Jesus didn't die to make us safe. He died to make us dangerous.

God is in the résumé-building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.

All of us love miracles. We just don't like being in a situation that necessitates one.

The genealogy of blessing always traces back to God-ordained risk.

Have you ever noticed that when you pray, coincidences happen? And when you don't, they don't.

If we repent, God always recycles our mistakes.

Embrace relational uncertainty. It's called romance. Embrace spiritual uncertainty. It's called mystery. Embrace occupational uncertainty. It's called destiny. Embrace emotional uncertainty. It's called joy. Embrace intellectual uncertainty. It's called revelation.

Prayer is the difference between seeing with our physical eyes and seeing with our spiritual eyes.

There comes a moment when you must quit talking to God about the mountain in your life and start talking to the mountain about your God. You proclaim His power. You declare His sovereignty. You affirm His faithfulness. You stand on His Word. You cling to His promises.

One of our fundamental spiritual problems is this: we want God to do something new while we keep doing the same old thing.

We usually focus on what we're doing or where we're going, but God's primary concern is who we're becoming in the process.

The only way you can fail is if you stop praying.

Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you. Secret prayer is our secret weapon.

Whatever God wants to do through you, He will do in you first. You've got to be what you want to see.

What sets lion chasers apart isn’t the outcome. It’s the courage to chase God-sized dreams.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death.

Faith is not logical. But it isn't illogical either. Faith is theological. It does not ignore reality; it just adds God into the equation.

We've lost the wow of God because we've lost the woe of God. His perfect holiness helps us truly appreciate His amazing grace.

The primary reason we lose faith is because we forget the faithfulness of God. Maybe that's why the word 'remember' is repeated 250 times in Scripture.

The circumstances we ask God to CHANGE are often the circumstances God is using to CHANGE US.

God isn't offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less. If your prayers aren't impossible to you, they are insulting to God.

The plans of God are only revealed in the presence of God.

You cannot build God’s reputation if you aren’t willing to risk yours.

One way to show someone you love them is to simply go out of your way for them. It's the gift of inconvenience.

Well-developed faith results in well-defined prayers, and well-defined prayers result in a well-lived life.

God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time. A sense of destiny is our birthright as followers of Christ. God is awfully good at getting us where He wants us to go. But here’s the catch: The right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time.

Bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. God isn't offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers-he is offended by Anything Less. If your prayers aren't impossible to You, they are insulting to God- why? Because they don't require divine intervention. But ask God to part the Red Sea or make the sun stand still or float an iron axhead and God is moved to Omnipotent action

In my experience, take the Holy Spirit out of the equation of your life and it spells boring. Add it into the equation of your life and you never know where you are going to go, what you are going to do, or who you are going to meet.

Jesus didn’t die to keep us safe. He died to make us dangerous. Faithfulness is not holding the fort. It’s storming the gates of hell. The will of God is not an insurance plan. It’s a daring plan. The complete surrender of your life to the cause of Christ isn’t radical. It’s normal. It’s time to quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. It’s time to go all in and all out for the All in All. Pack your coffin!

Our Heavenly Father is far too wise and loves us far too much to give us everything we ask for.

You can have faith or you can have control, but you cannot have both.

If you've never had a God-sized dream that scared you half to death, then you haven't really come to life. If you've never been overwhelmed by the impossibility of your plans, then your God is too small. If your vision isn't perplexingly impossible, then you need to expand the radiuses of your prayer circles.

You are only one prayer away from a dream fulfilled, a promise kept, or a miracle performed.

Sometimes God leads us to a place where we have nowhere to turn but to Him; our only option is to trust Him.

It is absolutely imperative at the outset that you come to terms with this simple yet life-changing truth: God is for you. If you don't believe that, then you'll pray small timid prayers; if you do believe it, then you'll pray big audacious prayers.

I have an unshakable sense of destiny because I know that as long as I pursue God's calling on my life, then God is ultimately responsible for getting me where He wants me to go.

Prayer is the inheritance we receive and the legacy we leave.

Don’t just read the Bible. Start circling the promises. Don’t just make a wish. Write down a list of God-glorifying life goals. Don’t just pray. Keep a prayer journal. Define your dream. Claim your promise. Spell your miracle.

We give up too easily. We give up too soon. We quit praying right before the miracle happens.

Instead of dissecting Scripture, we need to let Scripture dissect us our thoughts and attitudes, our dreams and desires, our fears and hopes.

Who you become is determined by how you pray

Finally, I learned that we shouldn’t seek answers as much as we should seek God.

If you aren't hungry for God, you are full of yourself.

You'll never be a perfect parent, but you can be a praying parent.

Even our hardest prayers are easy for the Omnipotent One to answer because there is no degree of difficulty.

The outcome of your life will be determined by your outlook on life.

Nothing honors God more than a Big Dream that is way beyond our ability to accomplish!

God is great not just because nothing is too big for Him. God is great because nothing is too small for Him, either.

When God blesses you financially, don't raise your STANDARD OF LIVING. raise your STANDARD OF GIVING.

Never underestimate the power of a single prayer.

Nine times out of 10, criticism is a defense mechanism. We criticize in others what we don't like in ourselves.

Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention.

In my experience, it’s much easier to act like a Christian than it is to react like one. Anyone can put on an act. But your reactions reveal what is really in your heart.

I think faith is the small mustard seed of opportunities every day. For example, 'Am I going to love this person? Am I going to share my faith with this person? Am I going to pray that little prayer?' It really is a daily thing where you seize those little mustard seed opportunities and then see what God does.