Quotes from Mark Batterson

We need to work like it depends on us, but we also need to pray like it depends on God. That's what consecration is all about. It's letting God do for us what we cannot do for ourselves. And that's how God gets all the glory. Consecration is a complete surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ. We relinquish everything to God - our time, talent, and treasure. It's a complete divestiture. But the exchange rate is unbelievable.

If faith is being sure of what we hope for, then being unsure of what we hope for is the antithesis of faith.

Take a step of faith when God gives you a vision because you trust that the One who gave you the vision is going to make provision. And for the record, if the vision is from God, it will most definitely be beyond your means.

Are you playing offense in your marriage? Or are you playing a prevent defense that leaves romance on the sidelines? Are you parenting reactively or proactively? Do you have a spiritual growth plan? Are you working for a paycheck or stewarding your God-given gifts pursuing a God-ordained dream? Are you trying to break even spiritually by avoiding sin? Or are you going for broke by invading the darkness with the light and love of Jesus Christ?

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

What do you do when God's logic doesn't line up with yours? When the will of God doesn't add up? When you think you know better or know more than God?

One of the mistakes we make as parents and as leaders is this: we do everything within our power to create emotional and relational and spiritual biospheres. We avoid conflict. We mitigate risk. We minimize discomfort. We sidestep sacrifice. Then we wonder why people grow to a certain stature and stop. We wonder why leaders fall.

It's not my name that's at stake.

Obedience starts with a pierced ear. It's tuning into God's frequency and turning up the volume. It's obeying His whispers, even if a thousand people are screaming something different. 'Tell me to what you pay attention,' said the Spanish philosopher Jose Ortega y Gasset, 'and I will tell you who are you.' You will eventually be shaped in the image of the loudest voice in your life. Genuine listening is ultimately an act of submission.

God is honored when we act as if He is going to answer our prayers! And acting as if means acting on our prayers. After hitting our knees, we need to take a small step of faith. And those small steps of faith often turn into giant leaps.

God trusts most those who know Him best, and those who know Him best are those who have spent the most time with Him.

After all, prayer is the difference between the best you can do and the best God can do. And that's a big difference! If we hit our knees, the Holy Spirit will do the heavy lifting. If we hit our knees, the Holy Spirit will reveal things that can only be discovered in the presence of God. If we hit our knees, the Holy Spirit will give us God-ideas for our ministry, family, business - for our lives.