Prayerful, Spirit-Led Writing (Regardless of Overt Christian Content)

 

A speaker at a Christian writers' conference said that she always kept a Bible on her desk when she was writing so that she would be open to whatever God wanted her to say. It was also a reminder that she was doing her writing in God's strength, not her own. This challenged me. I do pray about my writing, but am I always conscious that I'm partnering with God in whatever I write? If I'm honest, I would have to say 'No'.

If I'm working on an overtly Christian piece, such as a devotional or a personal testimony, then 'Yes', I would pray that God shows me what to write about and how to go about it. I also pray over tricky or difficult writing problems. 'I've just gotten my fictional heroine into this sticky situation. Help, Lord. How am I going to get her out?' I might also pray if I'm discouraged, under attack, overwhelmed or lacking in motivation. But I don't always pray when I'm doing research for my latest manuscript, preparing a talk on ambiguous pronouns, or writing an article on how to grow veges in your back yard. Actually, that last one would be a superb piece of fiction on my part, because I'm the world's worst gardener and the last person you'd want advising you on eggplant and broccoli! But the point is that it's easy to relegate some of our writing tasks and topics to the 'worthy of prayer' basket and others to the 'regular stuff that doesn't need prayer' bin. Or is it just me?

Christian Worldview

If we're a Christian and we write, then our Christian worldview should be at the forefront of everything we do, regardless of whether or not we're writing an overtly Christian piece. Our worldview will affect:

• The content of what we write (e.g., choosing the best scripture for a devotional; writing a scene in which our fictional heroine has a moral dilemma; steering clear of ungodly advice in our mainstream article on interpersonal relationships).
• The way we write (e.g., speaking the truth in love; offering hope even in dark situations).
• Our motives in writing (e.g., to glorify God rather than ourselves; to provide food for thought; to help others in practical ways).

Pray About the Veges

Prayer is crucial in all of these endeavours. Ask God to show you:

• The topics or themes to explore.
• The research you'll need and which bits of that research are most important.
• The structure to use for your nonfiction piece or the plot to use in your novel.
• How to write in an engaging way.
• How to reach your target audience.
• How to persevere when the going gets tough.
• How to withstand opposition or overcome barriers.
• How to tackle a tricky issue with sensitivity.
• What to keep in and what to leave out.
• Which people can be trusted to give you good feedback.
• How to edit your work and make the best use of feedback.

This list is certainly not exhaustive. Everything about your writing should be covered in prayer.

What about the article on growing veges in your back yard? There's nothing particularly Christian about that, so surely that one doesn't need prayer. What if you pray and the Holy Spirit prompts you to include a few sentences about the value of composting in increasing the productivity of soil? You think, 'That's weird, God. I was just going to tell readers which seeds to buy and how often to water them.' But you don't know that one of your readers is a single Mum who can't afford to buy fresh veges. A relative has just given her a compost bin, but she's not sure how to use it. That paragraph on composting is the part of your article that inspires her to grow her own veges. In no time, her family is eating fresh produce from their own back yard at a fraction of the cost they'd pay at the supermarket. They also single-handedly stamp out world hunger, but that's another story.

I can think of many times when I've felt God prompt me to add a sentence I didn't intend to include or take out a sentence that seemed fine to me. Or I've been editing someone's work and I've had a little niggle about one section that seems fine at first glance. Sometimes it becomes clear why God gave me that directive; other times I have no clue. However, God knows the big picture. If we pray over all of our writing, we can trust that He will speak to us and that his instructions will be for our good and those of our readers. This blog could serve as an example. I spent several hours yesterday writing a post on how to approach your writing from a Christian worldview, but it just wasn't coming together. This morning I felt God leading me to focus on the part that related to prayer and leave the rest for another time. That meant a complete rewrite. Maybe there's someone who really needed to read this right now and God wanted me to encourage them.

Of course, I don't always get it right. I've written this post as much for myself as anyone. I often forget to pray about the little details in my writing or slip into complacency when I think I know what I'm doing (and I don't). Let's spur each other on to write from a place of prayer in all of our writing, not just the projects with overt Christian content. You never know when your compost will cause a bean to sprout.

Have you had times when God prompted you to include something in your writing that you hadn't previously thought of? Have there been times when you've felt a nudge from the Holy Spirit to delete or change something that seemed fine? I'd love to hear your examples.

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine (aka Nola Passmore) has a passion for faith and social justice issues, and loves weaving words that inspire others with courage and hope. Her inspirational historical novel Scattered was published in 2020, and was one of three finalists in the 2021 CALEB Awards. She has also co-edited the Christian charity anthology Glimpses of Light with Jeanette O’Hagan. She has more than 150 short publications, including fiction, poetry, devotions, true stories, magazine articles and academic papers.  She and her husband Tim run a freelance writing and editing business, The Write Flourish. She’d love to connect with you through her website: www.nolalorraine.com.au

Picture Credits

All pictures taken from Pixabay. Praying beneath the cross is by Gerd Altmann, the vege gardener is by Richard Duijnstee, and the compost bin is by Azur95.