Believe Big Podcast

28-Pastor Mark Batterson - Bold Prayers Honor God

October 25, 2022 Ivelisse Page with Pastor Mark Batterson Season 1 Episode 28
Believe Big Podcast
28-Pastor Mark Batterson - Bold Prayers Honor God
Show Notes Transcript Chapter Markers

Be infused with encouragement and more God-wink, truth nuggets than you can count!

  • Bold prayers honor God and God honors bold prayers. 
  • If you want God to do the super, you do have to do the natural.
  • Sometimes the bold prayer is praying something you prayed a hundred times.
  • Faith is taking the first step before God reveals the second step.
  • There is a testimony on the other side of this test.
  • Make sure that still small voice is the loudest voice in your life.

Join me today and listen in as pastor and author Mark Batterson talks about his book, The Circle Maker, his experience as the caregiver to his wife, Lora during her cancer journey, and his infectious faith in God the Father.  You WILL be encouraged and inspired!

Connect with Pastor Mark Batterson:
https://www.markbatterson.com/

Suggested Resources:


Your donations power our podcast's mission to support cancer patients with hope, insights, and resources. Every contribution fuels our ability to uplift and empower. Join us in making a lasting impact. Donate now! 🌟

Ivelisse Page:

Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening to the Believe Big podcast, the show where we take deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page, and it's an honor to spend this time with you. Do you ever sense that there's far more to prayer and to God's vision for your life than what you're experiencing? No matter what your prayer life is like, you'll be encouraged by our friend Mark Batterson. He is here to help us uncover how God delights in answering our heart's deepest desires, and God-given dreams through bold prayers. Mark serves as a lead pastor of National Community Church in Washington, DC, one Church with multiple locations. NCC also owns and operates Ebeneezer's Coffee House, the Miracle Theater, the DC Dream Center, and Capital Turnaround as gathering places for the community and funding for kingdom causes. Mark serves as lead visionary for The Dream Collective which equips and supports dreamers who long for revival in the church, reformation in the Kingdom and also in our culture. Mark holds a doctor of ministry degree from Regent University and is the author of, get this, 23 books including my favorite and New York Times best seller, The Circle Maker, that we'll be focusing on today. Mark is married to his beautiful wife, Lora, and they live on Capitol Hill. They have three children, Parker, Summer, who's married to Austin and Josiah. Welcome Mark, to the show.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Oh, thanks Ivelisse. It's great to be with you.

Ivelisse Page:

Aw, thanks for being here today. Our listeners are always interested in discovering what our guest's favorite health tip is. What would you say is yours?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

I need a goal to go after or I won't stay in shape. So I do an annual challenge, and this year it was a bike century, in Colorado, no less. And I'm a sea level guy, so I knew I had to train a little bit harder. And so what that means is about 16 weeks of training to bike a hundred miles. But that's what keeps me in shape. I'm a goal oriented guy and I try to do an annual challenge, be it a bike century or a marathon or those kinds of physical challenges. And I feel like that keeps me healthy, keeps me young, and I would add one more thing. My oldest son loves to bike, so it's good for relationships when you figure out and share hobbies with your kids.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah, absolutely. Jimmy would completely agree, he always puts things onto the calendar so it makes him train like Spartan races and century rides as well.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

I I would also say Ivelisse, I eat healthier by default because...

Ivelisse Page:

You're lucky!

Pastor Mark Batterson:

...my wife. So I have to give some credit where credit is due.

Ivelisse Page:

Absolutely. I'm glad she keeps you straight on your diet. That's awesome. So The Circle Maker I'm telling you, it is one of my favorites. I read it every year and the devotional that you can get with the book. I count back 40 days before our Believe Big dinner every year, because I just love the stories that are in there. For those who aren't familiar with The Circle Maker, can you tell us how it came about?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Yeah it's actually based on a true story in the tall mood about a Jewish sage named Honi, who during a drought was asked to pray and he did something pretty bold. He drew a circle in the sand, knelt in that circle, and he prayed this prayer. I swear before your sovereign name that I will not leave this circle unless you have mercy upon your children. And so he prayed a bold prayer for rain, and God answered that prayer. And it's a prayer that saved a generation. And so I believe that bold prayers honor God, and God honors bold prayers. Prayer's not about us outlining our agenda to God. It's about getting into God's word, God's presence, letting God outline his agenda to us. It's gotta be in the will of God for the glory of God. But if it is, it's game on, let's pray with a little bit more boldness those promises that we believe. The Circle Maker is a tip of the cap to Honi, the circle maker is the name that he earned. And and so I know we'll talk about this, but I think we've both drawn our fair share of prayer circles.

Ivelisse Page:

Definitely. What would you consider is a bold prayer?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

I wanna be careful here cuz God knows the number of hairs on our head, and a sparrow doesn't fall that he doesn't notice it. He loves us. He cares about the minute details of our lives. Just like we love to hear about our kids' day in school or what happened on the playground. The Lord loves that and a lot of prayer is just conversational. But at the same time I think sometimes we pray for things that are actually within our ability to just do ourselves. And so when I say a bold prayer, I'm talking about things that are beyond our ability, beyond our resources, beyond our education. And I'm a both and guy that I pray for miracles and I'm grateful for medicine, and kind of everything in between. But I'll give you an example of a bold prayer. It's having asthma for 40 years and still having the boldness to say, God, would you heal my lungs? And, that's exactly what happened on July 2nd, 2016. I haven't touched an inhaler from that day to this day, and I've discovered you have to participate in your own healing. And by the way, thank you Ivelisse, because you've helped Laura and I in our health journeys. If you want God to do the super, you do have to do the natural, like you've gotta do things that contribute to your own healing. But I tell you what I had asthma for 40 years and if you had told me that I would not touch an inhaler from July 2nd, 2016 until today, I would've called you crazy. But there's a God who is still the same yesterday, today, and forever, who answers prayer. And for that I'm grateful. And that's just hitting the ground running right there. You asked the question so I figure I'd answer it.

Ivelisse Page:

I love that. And how long did you pray that prayer? Cuz sometimes people get discouraged and they think, Okay, I prayed for that for a week, or I prayed for a year or years. How long did you pray that God would heal you of your asthma before you were actually healed?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Decades.

Ivelisse Page:

Wow.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

And I still don't get it. There's so much that's past my pay grade, but you have to figure out your core convictions and one of mine is that God is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine according to his power that's at work within us. I never doubted God's ability to heal, to do miracles. It was more of. Like why? And then when it happened, it was why now and why not 10 years ago? But I have what I call a Deuteronomy 29:29 file, and it says that the revealed things belong to us, but the secret things belong to God. And so there are some things I don't understand. They're past my pay grade, and I put him into that Deuteronomy 29:29 file. And even when you can't see God's hands, you have to trust his heart. And but then I'd also say you have not, because you ask not. And I do think that, we're called to approach the throne of grace with confidence, with boldness. And that's what I try to do. And so I think it's really important to have some things that keep you on your knees, praying prayers that are bigger than your ability to answer. And sometimes the bold prayer is praying something you prayed a hundred times. And you know what? I bet there's people on this podcast right now listening who have prayed for someone who's far from God for many years. You're praying for them. Keep praying. Keep praying that they find their way back to God. Keep praying that they find faith with their fingerprint on it. And that's a bold prayer cuz it hasn't been answered yet. But you gotta keep pressing in, praying through, and keep putting it in God's hands.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. And what would you say to someone who is listening today, who has been praying for their healing, they have cancer or their loved one's healing, and it doesn't seem like God is answering that prayer?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Yeah, that's a hard question. In theology it's called the Odyssey. If God is good, why is there pain and suffering in the world? It's heartbreaking and it's real, and we've encountered it. I have a father-in-law that passed away at 55 from a massive heart attack, but two days earlier he had been given a clean bill of health. There are hard things in life. And I know that someday we'll cross that space time continuum, enter a dimension called Heaven, where there's not pain or sickness or death or mourning, I get that. But I also believe that Heaven can invade earth. And I keep praying for those miracles. But, I also think that it's really important to do everything that's within your power to contribute to your own health. And that's not just the usual suspects. And I know I'm speaking your language here cuz some of this I probably picked up from you, but, Believe Big for example just that language, your mindset, it's gonna be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Your words are in a sense, bringing life and death. That's what the writer of Proverbs said. I don't wanna jump ahead of this story, Ivelisse, but while I'm thinking of it, I think it's a fun example. When Lora got that first cancer diagnosis in 2017 and it turned out to be stage one breast cancer. Between the diagnosis and the tests and the biopsies there's all the feelings, all the fear. What stage is it? What's the prognosis? But one of the things that we did, was we started going to comedy clubs, a lot more. Because we needed to laugh and, laughter do it good like a medicine. And so there are things that we can do to help begin to contribute to some of that healing. And not all of them happen in a doctor's office. A lot of them happen in the three pounds of gray matter between our two ears. That really is where a lot of health and healing come from, I believe.

Ivelisse Page:

I completely agree. And we just actually had Dr. Kelly Turner on the podcast and she shared three out of the 10 factors that contributed to these patients having a radical remission or spontaneously remission as the conventional doctors would say, are not physical. And I'll never forget this one study that she shares in that book that says that they did a clinical study and there were two groups of patients. Both groups were on saline and one of the groups was just told that they were on chemotherapy. It was saline, but they were told they was on chemotherapy. And 30% of the people in that group that were told it was chemotherapy, lost their hair.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Wow!

Ivelisse Page:

Can you believe that? The power of our mind is so strong. What we're watching, what we're reading, what we're thinking. Which is why prayer I feel is even more important to fill our minds with the capabilities of what God can do. That really struck me.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

The placebo effect and then the corollary, the nocebo effect, for better or for worse, those studies just make me marvel. We are fearfully and wonderfully made. A recent book Do It For A Day And Win The Day, I talk a little bit about habit formation and I don't wanna get too far off track here, but I am a mind over matter guy. I am a nurture over nature guy that almost anyone can accomplish almost anything if they work at it long enough, hard enough, and smart enough. And there is no denying that the power of faith or the lack thereof. I think that's encouraging. That to me is incredibly encouraging that okay, there are things I can do to help my own healing. And and it starts at the level of our thought.

Ivelisse Page:

I also love when you're talking about nothing honors God, more than a big dream. And, that is way beyond our ability to accomplish. And I think about that all the time as I'm praying about the Believe Big Institute of Health, that, the future of that and that building being built and actually seeing people walk through that building. I envision it, and you say in your book,"Take a step of faith when God gives you a vision because you trust that the one who gave you that vision is gonna make the provision. And if the vision is from God, it will most definitely be beyond your means." And I think I read that all the time. I have that quote in my journal because I'm not a researcher, I'm not a contractor. I'm a mom of four and a cancer survivor, thriver and you're asking me to do what? It's just so encouraging to see that, okay when God gives you something to do, he's gonna empower and equip you to do it. And I love how you say in the book too, that it's because of that, that he uses the unlikely that we can't take credit for it, we know that it's definitely God because there's no way that would happen without His help. And so another big, dream that God gave you was about Ebeneezer's Coffee House. Can you share about the miracle of that project for people that don't know?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

I'd love to, and make sure I don't get too far off track here, but can I share one more thing. so,

Ivelisse Page:

Absolutely.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Because you asked me about health tips and tactics and I called my mom a week ago and wished her a happy 81st birthday. And I said, Mom, what have you been doing? And she said stretching. And it made me chuckle because when my daughter was married a couple of years ago, my mom dominated the dance floor. She would've been 78. And all the young kids were like, all tuckered out, tired. My mom was still on the dance floor and I said, Mom, like, how are you doing this? Ivelisse in the most kind of straight faced nonplus voice? She said, I stretch every day. That was her answer that she stretches every day. So there, there's a health tip, but I share that for a reason. I wanna stretch our faith right now. Because if you had said 26 years ago, you would own half a dozen properties on a 4.7 mile prayer walk, that I felt led to pray around Capitol Hill and that we would own six properties worth$83 million and be debt free. I would've called you crazy, there's no way. But 26 years later we have a crack house that we turned into Ebeneezer's Coffee House, and every penny of profit we give to kingdom causes. And the other corner of that prayer circle is where I am right now. And it's a city block that we are turning into The Capitol Turnaround. It's a mile from the capital, a hundred thousand square feet. Just a absolute miracle, but it always starts with that first step of faith. In fact, faith is taking the first step before God reveals the second step. Sometimes we get stuck with the big numbers or the big dream, but it's always about putting one foot in front of the other and just taking that first step of faith. And isn't it interesting that God told the priest to step into the Jordan River. Because I want God to part the river, then I'll step into it cuz I don't wanna get my shoes wet. But faith says you gotta step into it and then at that point God does what He does. There are a couple of things that are really hard to trust God with. One is our finances, let's be honest, it's hard. And the second is God's timing, because it almost always takes longer than what we had hoped or planned. But I think that's where we've gotta trust and stay faithful. And in my experience, you overestimate what you can accomplish in a year or two, but you underestimate what God can do in 10 or 20. And so Ivelisse, we're believing with you for that institute, for those buildings, for that space and place where healing happens. And it's gonna take some miracles. We'll praise God, cuz then we'll give Him the credit and give Him the glory when He does it.

Ivelisse Page:

Thanks Mark. Thank you. You share in your story of Israel, walking around Jericho, which is best known as the location of where God performed, where the walls came down. For those who haven't read the story, Jericho was the first city conquered in the book of Joshua and Israel was crossing the Jordan River and occupying the promised land. Where God gave Joshua specific instructions for the men of war to march in silence around the city once each day for six days. On the seventh day they were to march around the city seven times and they came tumbling down. And one fact I just heard this past week was that not only did the wall come down, but the stones fell inward, which made it easy for the Israelites to conquer. So in the book you said, what is your Jericho? And I feel like many of those listening today feel as if their cancer is this huge wall. It's this wall of Jericho. What would you say to them?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

One, thanks for listening to this podcast cuz we all need as much encouragement as we can get and we need each other. When Lora got that diagnosis and we drove up your direction towards Baltimore back in the day and we shared a meal and you shared your journey. And shared the struggle as well as the victories. We needed that. So first of all, just thanks for, you're leaning in, you're listening, you're learning. I think we we didn't know what to do, what to think, what course of treatment. And those were hard decisions that we had to discern. I, I will say this, Lora is a 1 on the Enneagram, which means she's a perfectionist. She's a detail. She did everything right, we felt, and then a second diagnosis came back and it was such a sucker punch. It was hard and you're gonna have moments where emotionally whew, you gotta lean on someone. And so we felt all of the feels, all of the discouragement. But we decided we're gonna double down. And we're gonna do what we did before. We're gonna circle this thing. We're gonna pray, we're gonna laugh, we're gonna eat right. We're gonna try to do all the things that are within our power and then we're gonna trust the Lord. And you have to keep giving it back over. I think a diagnosis like that can be a little bit of a trigger, and you can let fear creep into the nooks and crannies of your mind and your heart, but you can't let fear dictate your decisions. And so we just had to go back to a second time, start all over again and make hard decisions. But, I think it's like Jericho. It's something you just keep circling. And you keep praying around it and keep trusting the Lord. And I will say this and I don't wanna put words into Lora's mouth cuz she's the hero of the story. I was the sidekick that encouraged but Lora has grown so much through this spiritually, emotionally, I think relationally, our marriage has grown stronger. But one of the things that Lora occasionally writes in her journal, I'm still here" and I love that Ivelisse. It's this,"hey, we've taken some punches. We've gotten knocked down a couple of times, but I'm still here". And I would add to that, that, she has learned some hard lessons. I talk a little bit about Kiss the Wave is it okay if I share a little bit about that?

Ivelisse Page:

Please.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Charles Spurgeon said, I've learned to kiss the wave that throws me against the rock of ages. And so the obstacle is not the enemy. The obstacle is the way. There is a testimony on the other side of this test. It's just the first four letters, right? And you have to pass the test to get to that other side. And we've tried to keep our eyes on the goal and the goal is to, place a health and wholeness. Not just physically, not just, not just cancer free, but thriving, emotionally, spiritually, relationally, because all those things are gonna contribute to the health and healing. So that's kinda our journey. One little thing that we do that I think is maybe worth sharing is because I pastor a church, our Sabbath isn't exactly Sunday. It's a work day. So our Sabbath is sundown Sunday to sundown Monday. And we share our gratitude journals Sundown Sunday as a regular practice. And it puts us in a posture of gratitude, especially when you have some things to be, in the flesh worried about or frustrated about, or anxious about. And so I've just learned, hey, we are going to stay focused on the things we're grateful for, and that is one of our family values. And so keeping a gratitude journal, another little trick of the trade that I think Kelly Turner would give two thumbs up to.

Ivelisse Page:

Definitely, that really supports so much. I'm sure she has a study to back that up too.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Yes, I'm sure.

Ivelisse Page:

And you mentioned, and I agree with the Gratitude Journal. We actually came out with a Believe Big gratitude journal last year because again, when you think about Thanksgiving, that's coming up as well, people think, what are you thankful for? We always say our family and our health, but we wanted to create a journal that was a daily practice. It causes you to think beyond what's obvious or what's in front of you. And so you are absolutely right, Mark, and I love that. I think I'm gonna talk to Jimmy about doing that on our Sabbath and sharing our gratitude with each other. You mentioned earlier that Lora was the hero, but I disagree because I think you both were heroes in this process in the cancering journey because honestly, I feel for the caregiver. Sometimes it's even more difficult than the patient themselves. And so I wanna honor you in that sense that it is a hard road to walk beside, stay positive, helping that loved one, to maintain a positive mindset and prayer. And thinking about all the unknowns as well. So what, for you as the caregiver, was the most difficult part of your journey?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

I think it was almost the initial stages of the sucker punch. I mean that, I don't even know how to describe it, but you get a diagnosis and sometimes you get that together if you happen to be at the doctors together, otherwise, you get it separately and it's hard not to just process the pain in a way that almost makes it more painful for the person who got the diagnosis. It's really hard to be brave. But I would also say we cried together. That's okay. Like you gotta cry together, you gotta embrace it together, but I think it's the feeling it together. This is really hard to describe cuz it's not like you can take a class or read something that prepares you for those moments. This feels unrelated, but I think it's somehow related, that I've always felt that experiencing things as husband and wife for Lora and I, it divides the pain by two, but it multiplies the joy by two. If that makes sense.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah, it does.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

And so I think in the hard moments, hopefully, because it's two people absorbing it, you maybe absorb each of you, maybe half of it, and then when the good things happen, you both feel twice the joy, so that's our experience.

Ivelisse Page:

Yeah. And there's so many people, and I'll never forget this, and I know it was a well-meaning person, but someone when I was in college, said to me, cuz my father had passed away from cancer too, said, Ivelisse, if your father had enough faith, he would've survived. And I'll never forget that. And it came right back in those moments when I was diagnosed and I knew it wasn't right in my heart of hearts. But I also didn't wanna be wrong. And so I remember going back to the Lord and saying, If I'm wrong here, if I'd have to have enough faith, can you make it make me have enough faith so I can be here. And I'm telling you, Mark, not a second went by, that God instantly spoke and said, Ivelisse, it's not about how much faith you have, it's do you trust me no matter how this turns out. And that actually became Jimmy's and my mantras. You become stronger together. It's yeah, Lord, no matter whether I live or die, I still win. As believers, we win. And I will trust you as I trusted you with my father's passing and others that things that I cannot see. And I think that hopefully can give someone hope that's listening there, that, you don't have to have enough faith, you don't have to pray enough, or there's nothing that we can do that will gain or take away God's favor. He is. And so can you speak to that as a pastor?

Pastor Mark Batterson:

I would say that the person who said that, and maybe it was well meaning but it's not good theology. It's not based in scripture. Part of me wishes that Hebrews 11 ended about halfway through. But it doesn't. It says that some of those prophets, some of those Old Testament heroes were killed and sawed in two and tortured. And 11 out of the 12 apostles were martyred for their faith. We were born on a battlefield between good and evil, and we know how it ends. We win and we look forward to the day that complete healing, eternal healing happens. But the reality is, you don't get to play God. Ivelisse my take, my theory is when things go bad, don't play the victim.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

When things go good, don't play God.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Cuz you're not. Listen, a lot of bad things happen to good people. But we still have response ability. It's our ability to choose our response in any set of circumstances. And I think people could say, Mark, that's so easy for you to say. Ah, don't be so quick. Everybody's fighting a battle you know nothing about, We all have pain and hurts and questions and disappointments. I guarantee that pastors are not only not immune, but probably have a target on our back that might make it harder than the average person. And we've walked through heartbreak and heartache. I've officiated funerals that don't make sense to me. But it's in those moments that you have a choice to make you can throw in the towel, you can cash out. But at the end of the day I believe that there is a God who is good, who loves us, and I pray to a God of miracles. Occasionally it's the God of comfort who shows up.

Ivelisse Page:

Yes.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Instead of the miracle I'm praying for. But one, one way or the other. I'm grateful for a God who loves us, cares for us, and I'm gonna keep praying for miracles cuz I've experienced too many miracles not to believe God for the next one. But also trust him when I can't figure out why what is happening.

Ivelisse Page:

And one last question. I know our time's running short. You talk about miracles and you say in the book that the reason many of us miss the miracles is that we aren't looking and listening. The easy part of prayer is talking. It's much harder listening to the still small voice of the Holy Spirit. So how does one hear the voice of the Holy Spirit? If someone is not a person of faith or that's been walking with God closely, what would be your advice to them on how they could work or hear the voice of the Holy Spirit.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

This feels like another podcast. Ivelisse.

Ivelisse Page:

You're right.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

And you, you know my heart here that I I'm always hesitant to mention books I've written, but at the same time I wrote em,

Ivelisse Page:

Please do.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

because I believe them. And wrote a book called Whisper, How to Hear The Voice of God and talk about the seven languages that God speaks in and the hardest language, the language we don't wanna learn is the language of pain. But God does speak through our pain sometimes in a way that we couldn't hear any other way. I might just say that one thing that Lora and I have learned to do is silent retreats. And part of that is because there's so much white noise, there's so many voices that occasionally we just get off the grid. And you take a Bible and a journal and 24 hours. Just put your phone on do not disturb. Let the people you.Know and love know where you are and that you're okay. But then just dial in. Part of it is ear cleansing. There are just too many voices yelling and shouting. And right now it feels like the loudest voice wins. And I would say you gotta make sure that still small voice is the loudest voice in your life. This is me putting my pastor hat on. But I do a daily Bible reading plan because when I open the Bible, God opens his mouth and I begin to hear and discern. And there are things we can do. And then I'd also say you gotta surround yourself with some wise counsel, people that you trust. Jesus said, don't cast your pearls before pigs. In other words, if you're battling something, you wanna make sure you get the right set of ears as a sounding board. And and so those are things that we can begin to do that will help us hear that voice. The last thing I would say, and I say this, half joking, that sometimes I can't tell the difference between the still small voice of the Holy Spirit and Lora's voice. And it's because I trust her. We've been married long enough that she can say what she thinks and she has a way of saying it, that she's earned me listening to it. And sometimes it's God's speaking through a spouse, or a parent, or a loved one that you've come to trust. And so those are a few things that maybe get us headed in the right direction.

Ivelisse Page:

I love that. And I'll definitely put the links to those books, Win the Day and Whisper as well to The Circle Maker in the show notes, so that if people really wanna dive deeper into those topics that, that they can. And so I'm gonna close this with this because I love that in your book you prayer is the difference between appointments and divine appointments. Prayer is the difference between good ideas and God ideas. Prayer is the difference between the favor of God and the luck of the draw. Prayer is the difference between closed doors and open ones. Prayer is the difference between possible and impossible. Prayer is the difference between the best we can do and the best God can do". So Mark, thank you so much for being with us today. Thank you for infusing those who are listening with encouragement. Thank you for all the ways that you serve the community and beyond every day, and we're just so grateful for your time.

Pastor Mark Batterson:

Thanks, Ivelisse. God bless, a joy to be with you.

Ivelisse Page:

If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our podcast, please subscribe and share it with others. Be sure to visit believebig.org to access the show notes and discover our bonus content. Thanks again, and keep Believing Big!

What is your favorite health tip?
How did The Circle Maker come about?
Define "bold prayer" for us.
How long did you pray for God to heal your asthma?
Deuteronomy 29:29 file
What do you say to someone who has been praying but it seems God isn't listening?
The miracle story of Ebeneezer's Coffee House
The story of the Wall of Jericho
What is your Jericho?
Kiss the Wave
As a caregiver, what was the most difficult part of Lora's journey?
There is nothing we can do that will gain or take away God's favor. Can you speak to that as a pastor?
How does one hear the voice of the Holy Spirit?