Lord God Adonai,
I am about to write.
I have nothing to say,
nothing to offer.
I am a poor writer,
and an even poorer Christian.
And yet I must try
to find words
that will bring into being
something that has never been before.
Help me, Lord.
Inspire me.
Empower me.
Flow through me.
Grant that I may write
better than I can write,
and thus know that
all the honor and glory and thanks
belong to you,
in Jesus’ name, amen.
A Prayer Before Writing
Conflict And Characters: Mess ‘Em Up Good
Bob, that’s just beautiful. I only wish I had understood and embraced these truths earlier; I might not have given up on writing.
As it was, tripped by my own pride, I never found the meaning.
Thus, for anyone who’s interested, a cautionary tale…
Had I but tried to understand
that what I wrote was not my story,
but something placed in my remand,
a lamp to shine upon God’s glory,
the gifts that God had given me,
the love for words and gracious prose
might have (there is no certainty)
bloomed akin to red, red rose
and offered up a channeled grace
to some ensnared by worldly thorn;
but I would not accept my place,
and from this pride remained stillborn
love God intended I reflect,
a light put out by the stiff-necked.
Amen, Andrew.
And I know you’ve been told this, but you ARE writing. You encourage us all the time with your poetry! Thanks for not giving that up!
Pam, thank you so much; the poetry will remain.
I did write a couple of novels, and did pretty much everything wrong (though people do seem to like them) out of overweening self-confidence, quite misplaced.
1) I read fiction from the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s, and disdained modern style. Adverbs and passive voice were my life.
2) I didn’t avail myself of crit groups, or opportunities for workshops.
3) When my first novel was published (oddly, under a standard royalty contract by a vanity press), I had no idea of marketing or platform building, and thought it gauche to learn.
So I was That Guy, who was going to remake the literary scene in his own image.
Ah, well.
Pam, one trip hazard of pride. I didn’t know my intended audience.
I’m Catholic, and simply didn’t make the distinction between Catholic and Christian fiction.
You’re not alone in all that, Andrew. Lots of newbies (including ME!) make all those mistakes. That’s why I advise all new writers to try and get to a writers conference.
God still uses us in all our pride and foolishness. I’m so thankful!
I can relate to this. I started writing seriously in my Fifties. And, I knew what I didn’t know, and that was how to put a sentence together. LOL! I wasn’t an English major. The only thing I had going for me was my imagination, the middle-of-the-night sessions with the Holy Spirit, and my Editor. I know my deficiencies as a writer and am eternally grateful that writing is a Father-Son activity. So, Andrew, I am right there with the reality of who we are in the process.
Derek, you said this so well! Hang in there!
This, I love.
Cool, Andrew! and spot on
Thank you so much, Christine!
“A lamp to shine upon God’s glory,” not “a light put out by the stiff-necked.” YES!
Beautiful!
Amen!
This is beautiful. I revised it to make it personal and have been using it daily, but today my pray seemed an oxymoron. I had to ask Father to help me create more and stronger conflict. I’m not by nature a trouble maker, yet I know that’s what readers need to engage. The message of the book will fall flat without it. That said, I can’t wait to see what trouble Father will help me stir up.
Happy writing everyone.
Thank you! This is much needed
😊🙏
My prayer as well.
Thank you for the beautiful prayer, Bob. I pray that my writing will touch the hearts of people and draw them to Jesus.
A deeply moving prayer. Thank you, Mr. Hostetler. This is a keeper!
I truly needed this, this morning. Thank you, Bob. I will be printing this off and cutting it to fit on a post it on my second monitor.
Wow.
Just last week a commenter on a story I’d written left me a prayer—a blessing on my writing. I was deeply touched, as no one, to my knowledge, has ever prayed for my writing before.
Now, here again, I am deeply touched. The perfect counterpoint to last week’s experience.
Thank you so much.
Amen! Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much for this encouragement. I find myself with those same thoughts and feelings, and need to pray frequently to find where to go next in my writings, all to the glory of God. Sometimes God sends someone like you to put encouraging words down for others. Thank you
What a wonderful expression of the process of creating something new. Like you, I am forever grateful that it is a higher being who initiates the flow. I owe him everything, but rarely give him the credit. Thanks for showing the way.
What a beautiful prayer. I had written a book and in the introduction, a statement that I was merely the stenographer of this work. That is was all the Holy Spirit’s work and that I am blessed to be able to bring that to the world.
Thank you for your prayer!!!
The prayer was a bit on the negative side. Begin your prayer at “Flow through me” and you got it right. I was taught never to use negative words like “can’t” and “poor” and I’ve lived by that for forty years. I would rather say “Thank you, Lord, for leading me, guiding me, protecting me, and directing me. Amen.”
I get where you’re coming from, and from some people, yes, this might seem negative. But from this guy, it’s nothing but humility. (I’ve had life-altering, wildly disappointing experiences which make me skeptical of the appearance of humility, particularly of Christian leaders, but in this case, my research and personal experience agree: he’s the real deal.)
Luke 18:13-14
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
I think this is where Bob started his prayer.
We all to pray the way God leads us. He doesn’t tell everyone the exact same thing.
Thank you for this prayer. I shared this on my Facebook page, Preparing the Sacrifice. And to my group, Christian Writers Co-op.
Love this!!
With tears, Amen.
Love this so much. You crossed my mind several times this week, so I prayed.
Love it! Thank you!
Yes, Lord! Amen.
Thank you for the reminder, today and every day.
Amen and amen.
So perfectly expressed it could have only been inspired by the Holy Spirit. Thank you for being the vessel!
Amen!
Thank you for the prayer and the prayers of brothers and sisters everywhere. I’m a numbers gal. So when in my sixties, God said write, I reluctantly moved forward. My prayer has been, to bring glory to Him, not myself. And, do no harm; don’t cause others to stumble. I have come to cherish the network of writers.
Wonderfully awesome, Bob. Thanks
Thank you for this prayer. I prayer before I start to write, but this helps as a great springboard. I printed it out to use daily.
Thank you for this prayer. I prayer before I start to write, but this helps as an addition to my own. I printed it out to use daily.
Awesome prayer! I am inspired!
I printed this prayer to keep near my computer.
Yes! Thank you.
Beautiful. Reminds me of my favorite theopoet, Paul Simon.
“You want to be a writer
But you don’t know how or when
Find a quiet place
Use a humble pen.”
Thank you, Bob, it was beautiful!
I was catching up on emails and found it at the perfect time <3
(Just about to sit down and craft my frist proposal!)
This is beautiful. I revised it to make it personal and have been using it daily, but today my pray seemed an oxymoron. I had to ask Father to help me create more and stronger conflict. I’m not by nature a trouble maker, yet I know that’s what readers need to engage. The message of the book will fall flat without it. That said, I can’t wait to see what trouble Father will help me stir up.
Happy writing everyone.