by Alycia W. Morales     @AlyciaMorales

As writers, we spend a lot of time focusing on getting words on the page, finishing a manuscript, coming up with fresh ideas, pitching, marketing, building our platform, etc. But there’s an even more important element of writing we tend to forget.

Prayer.

I’m blessed to have the ability to work from home. With that blessing comes the great challenge of managing my time and avoiding distractions. Surrounded by one husband, four teenagers of my own, one teenage niece, two dogs, and the temptation to watch Netflix and color all day, I have to be careful I don’t get so busy in the morning that I forget to spend time relating with Jesus before I get into work mode. Before I start writing. Because it’s so easy to sit in front of my laptop and start pounding the keys without remembering to include Him.

Last month, I attended ACFW for the second time. Allen Arnold taught one of the classes I took. He reminded us of our need to not only write for God but, more importantly, to write with Him.

Our words have a powerful reach when we remember to spend time with the One who gave them to us in the first place. When’s the last time you acknowledged God as being present with you as you wrote? I had to ponder that. And ponder I did.

Prayer is simply communicating with God. It’s no different than having a conversation with my husband or my best friend. So why do we so often cringe when someone mentions spending an hour with Father? Doing so should be no more difficult than sitting down at a computer and writing a book.

Consider the following when it comes to your writing career and prayer:

Making Choices: Do you take the time to ask God what He thinks before you decide which book idea to start with or whether or not to sign that contract?

Brainstorming: God is the Creator of all. I’m willing to bet He has some great ideas for your characters. Or your plot line. Or points you could make in your non-fiction book. He’s one of my favorite brainstorming partners.

Critique Partners: Do you dream of having a few fabulous critique partners? Have you asked Father to direct you to the right ones? He knows who will best fit your needs for encouragement, correction, inspiration, and counsel.

Warriors: Anyone who’s been in this writing world long enough knows that when your words go out into the world, the enemy loves to attack. Doubt. Rejection. Insecurity. Your words are going to impact lives, reveal God’s truth, and encourage others to overcome. Someone isn’t going to like that. Find yourself a group of prayer warriors to surround you and pray for you as you write.

The Right Words: Sometimes we think we’ve got a great sentence on the page or we’ve made an incredible point or offered fantastic revelation. But what if God doesn’t want us to say it that way? Or what if He has a better way of saying it than we do?

The key to all of these is the conversation with Jesus. Ask, and you will receive. Seek first the kingdom of God, and all these will be added to you. When we make it a point to go to our Father and spend time sitting at His feet, choosing the good part, He responds with His Presence. He enjoys our interaction, our intimacy, our relationship.

So why would we continue to sit in front of our computer screen, thinking we are alone in this endeavor? He’s right there with us. Waiting for us to say hello. To ask the questions. To listen to His response. To pray.

Do you have a testimony of a time you made it a point to talk with God about your writing and He responded? We’d love to hear about it! [reminder]

Alycia W. Morales is an award-winning freelance editor and author. Her clients have won the Selah Award, BRMCWC Director’s Choice Award, and many others. Her writing has been published in Thriving Family magazine, Splickety Love, and several compilation books. She is a member of ACFW, the president of Cross n’ Pens critique group, and a BRMCWC Conference Assistant.

Alycia blogs at The Write Editing and Life. Inspired.

When she isn’t busy writing, editing, and reading, Alycia enjoys spending time with her husband and four children taking hikes in Upstate SC and NC, creating various crafts, coloring in adult coloring books, and watching TV.