YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!

Tonight was the first of, hopefully many, family prayer circles. I first had a thought about this after reading the first few chapters of The Circle Maker. Life changing book by the way. If you haven't read it, you should! In the book the author talks about having very specific prayers and praying circles around them.
When our prayers are specific they present an opportunity for God to get more glory. The more specific we are the more incredible and unquestionable the results will be when God answers and the prayer was so specific there is just no other explanation.
So I started a prayer journal and made a very specific request. Unfortunately, I haven't been very consistent with it. I needed accountability. I felt God speak to me about family prayer. The request I had presented before God was something for our family, and that is when the family prayer circle idea started.
Some times we have expectations of how something should go, but expectations can get us in trouble when failed to be met. I had a picture in my head of this strong Godly family, standing in their cozy living room, holding hands in a circle, and everyone is quiet and respectful as they go around the circle speaking their hearts to Jesus.
Well let me tell ya, our circle was far far from that picture! Haha! But YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE! We went to one of the only quiet places in the house. Mariah and JC's room. Our two oldest girls, 17 and 15. We pilled in the little 9x9 room that was cluttered with clothing on the floor and make up crowding the desk top. We formed a circle, half of us standing on clothing and we locked hands. My youngest daughter, 5, started crying because she didn't want to stand by her 10 year old brother, who decided to squeeze his 6 year old sister's hand, and she began yelling. I could tell my husband was frustrated as this was supposed to be a Godly time, so I hurried to hush everyone and begin. I started with a simple prayer for our request, my 5 year old struggling to make me let go of her hand the whole time, and then I opened the floor to anyone who wanted to pray too. Josh and Sierra started fighting to pray first and after we got that settled everyone took a turn except one of the teens who is in that weird awkward phase. I was happy that everyone participated. This is something I want to do every day with my children! I'm sure one day we will look back at our very first prayer circle and laugh at all the imperfections and hopefully we will have many more fond memories of our imperfect, glorious, prayer circles.
We have always prayed with our Children, but always separately, and never consistently. This was our first attempt together! (Besides meal time of course) It didn't look like what I had envisioned but YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE!
God wants us JUST as we are! Imperfect people seeking Him. He just WANTS us, the good, the bad, the ugly, he wants all of us and as we move forward striving to please him the imperfections will start to become perfected until the day we stand face to face with our king!

Mathew 18:20 says
Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.

And let's not forget
Ecclesiastes 4:12
Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
How specific are you being with your prayers?
Who do you have in your prayer circle?
If you don't have a prayer circle I encourage to start one! You have to start somewhere! Find a group of friends or family and just start doing it. Be bold in your prayers, be specific and watch how God moves in your lives!
All for your glory Jesus, we love you!
Love you all friends! 😘

-Elizabeth