by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

“Father, how do I say this?”

“Father, I’ve hit a brick wall. The dreaded writer’s block. What do I do now?”

“Father, thanks so much for that sentence. That is what needed to come next.”

Before I write a blog post or article, when I get stuck, when I need inspiration, and when I have a breakthrough—I pray. How often do you pray when you write?

When we pray through every stage of writing, we tap into God’s wisdom and power. He supplies the insights and words we need as we seek His help. Have you ever seen God give you the perfect line to start a paragraph? How about just the right illustration for a chapter? An attitude of prayer keeps us connected to the One who can make the greatest impact on our readers. He knows what they need to read. He knows how to phrase what we need to write.

Use the following prayer guide as a way to stay connected to God, His help, and His wisdom as you write. I’m praying these things for my writing ministry, and I’ve prayed several of these points for the ministries of my writer friends.

A Prayer Guide for the Christian Writer by @KatyKauffman28 on @BRMCWC

Before You Write:

• Ask God to prepare your heart so you can hear His leading as you write.
• Ask Him to clear away all distractions.
• Ask Him to bind the spiritual enemies of doubt, fear, anxiety, and the devil as you write.

As You Write:

• Ask God to help you develop your main idea.
• If you’re writing about Scripture, pray over the Bible passage that you’re using, turning the application you see into praise to God or a petition for yourself and others.
• Ask God to show you the best wording, especially when you get stuck in the writing process.
• Thank God for the principle He showed you from Scripture and from the life stories you’re sharing with readers.
• Pray that God speaks to the reader through your writing—that they appreciate Him more, understand truth better, and know how to live out what Scripture is teaching.

For Your Audience:

• Ask God to prepare the hearts and minds of those who need the message He has given you.
• Pray for your readers to depend on God when they face the struggle you’re writing about, and to look to His Word for promises to hold onto and for strength to persevere.
• Ask God to highlight for your audience whatever takeaway they need on the day they read your writing.
• Pray that your readers will be able to relate to the stories you share and see how God helped you through a struggle.
• Ask God that your writing would reach just the right people at just the right time in their lives.

After You Hit Send on a Submission:

• First, breathe. Next, thank God that this submission has been sent!
• Pray that God gives guidance to the publisher and grace to you as you wait to hear a reply.
• Ask God for the wisdom and direction to work on the next piece of writing while you wait.
• Also ask God to help you trust Him whatever the outcome is, because He knows how to best publish your work.

Once Your Writing Is Published:

• Thank God for this opportunity, and pray that your writing will find its way to those who need to read it.
• Ask God for ideas and open doors to promote the material, because after all, you’re promoting the message Hehas supplied.
• Pray that your writing acts like a piece of a puzzle, filling in a gap of comfort, truth, encouragement, grace, or strength that your readers needed.
• Pray that your writing will join forces with the writing of other Christian writers from around the world, to be a beacon of hope, a lighthouse of truth, a demonstration of God’s love, and an encouragement to all who read it.

When you write, what do you like to pray? Share your ideas in the comments below, so we can seek God together as we write!

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist. She recently started The Lighthouse Connection, a monthly writers’ newsletter including writing tips, inspiration to write, and news of submission opportunities.

In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, take acrylic painting classes online, and do yard work in the morning sun. Connect with her at her blog, Winning the Victory, and on Facebook and Twitter.