As a family man involved in church, I pray fairly often. Mostly for my family.
“Dear God, please help the baby fall asleep.”
“Heavenly Father, please clear traffic so I can get to work on time.”
“Jesus, please save our children from my mistakes.”
It’s interesting that the more we need, the more we pray for. And we pray for all kinds of stuff. Big and small.
- Cars
- Parking spots
- Jobs
- Relationships
- Weather
- Kids
You get the idea.
But you know what never gets prayed for?
Blogs.
I can’t recall ever reading a prayer post or hearing a blogger pray for their craft.
Doesn’t this surprise you?
For bloggers who are passionate about a message, out to change the world, or aspire to make writing a livelihood, you would think the blogosphere would be jammed up with bended knees and prayer circles.
Nope.
And so, I propose we writers live out our faith and put Philippians 4:6-7 into practice.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
1. Clarity
Whether writing comes easy to you or not, it’s important to have a clear message. Readers won’t decide to be for you if they don’t know what you are for. Readers need to know why they should care. Ask God for clarity and guidance as your fingers fly across the keyboard.
2. Wisdom
Words are powerful tools. They can be used as weapons of war or bandages of comfort. It’s too easy to take offense and spout off on a rant that damages someone else’s character (or our own). Ask God for wisdom and discernment as you wield words with care.
3. Readers
You know the tree falling in the woods question. Well, if a blogger writes a post and no one reads it, does it matter? If your words are going to change anything someone has to read them. Lots of someones. Ask God to bring your content to the eyes of people who need it.
4. Patience
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither were successful blogs. The long road to the promised land is hard work. And lots and lots of writing. Probably more words than you care to count. Ask God for patience and fortitude as you fight the good fight each day.
5. Systems
You might be tech savvy, but behind the scenes of websites is complicated. Between servers, hosting, domain management and coding, any number of components can break your blog. Ask God to wrap His hands around the interwebs and keep your platform running smooth.
Finally
You can increase your influence, find your writing voice and ensure your blog is securely designed, but you can’t control everything. If God Almighty knows every sparrow that falls to the ground, He knows when your blog host’s server crashes.
Work hard and do everything you know how to grow your craft. Just remember to lean on the Author and Finisher of our faith. He wrote this best-selling book, it’s called the Bible. It’s good stuff. Be sure to read it.
Do you think it’s weird to pray for your online platform?
What is the craziest thing you’ve asked God for?
Is there a blogger prayer request we missed?
[Image via Lawrence OP via Compfight cc]
Alison Hector says
I think it’s extremely wise to pray for your blog. I know I do! I cosign on all of the prayer point you mentioned above. I think I’d add that we ensure that the blog is operated and written to God’s glory and that what we write will reflect well upon not just us, but God too.