Mark Batterson

If nothing is tougher for men than baring their souls and revealing their true feelings, then a true tough guy is someone who does just that. Real men cry. In twenty years of leading National Community Church, I’ve tried to be strong and courageous. And that often means putting on a brave face and soldiering…

When you hike the Grand Canyon or build a mud hut, you discover muscles you didn’t know you had. And that’s precisely the point. You’ve got to put yourself in positions that will push you past your previous limits. That’s how you grow. “That which doesn’t kill us,” said Friedrich Nietzsche, “makes us stronger.” Or…

For three long years, there was no puddle jumping in Israel. Then the Lord promised Elijah that He would send rain, but like every promise, Elijah still had to circle it via persistent prayer. So Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, fell on his face, and prayed for rain. Six times he told…

Our generation desperately needs to rediscover the difference between praying for and praying through. There are certainly circumstances where praying for something will get the job done. I believe in short prayers before meals because, quite frankly, I believe in eating food while it’s still hot. But there are also situations where you need to…

A few years ago, I read one sentence that changed the way I pray. The author, pastor of one of the largest churches in Seoul, Korea, wrote, “God does not answer vague prayers.” When I read that statement, I was immediately convicted by how vague my prayers were. Some of them were so vague that…

As I look over my shoulder, I’m grateful for the miracles God has done, and I’m keenly aware of the fact that every miracle has a genealogy. If you trace those miracles all the way back to their origin, you’ll find a prayer circle. Miracles are the by-product of prayers that were prayed by you…

In 1934 Ole Kirk Christiansen was a Danish carpenter turned toy maker. The company he created was called LEGO, a word coined from two Danish words meaning “play well.” Their motto? Only the best is the best. That’s not a bad encapsulation of the miracle at Cana. The master of ceremonies put it this way…

During my senior year of high school, my basketball coach noticed I was squinting at the free throw line, so he suggested I get my vision checked out. I honestly thought my vision was normal, but the ophthalmologist informed me that I had 20/40 vision. I was seeing at twenty feet what people with normal…

November 13, 1946, a plane took off from the Schenectady County Airport with a rather unique payload—six pounds of dry ice. Its mission? To seed the clouds with solidified carbon dioxide, in hopes of creating enough condensation to cause precipitation. Upon takeoff, Schaefer flew his single-propeller plane into a cumulus cloud and dumped the dry…

Caleb was forty years old when he was chosen as one of twelve spies to do reconnaissance in the Promised Land. It was Caleb who cast vision to the nation: “Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it.” If I had to guess Caleb’s StrengthsFinder profile, it…