Recently I was talking about my writing (KJ specifically) with two people close to me, and after our conversation one of them looked at me and said, “What can we do to help?”

It took me a few days to come up with a three-part answer:

1. respect my writing time (physical)
2. affirm my calling (emotional)
3. pray for me (spiritual).

But what does it look like to pray for a writer?

Here are some ideas adapted from my own prayer list for KJ. I pray

• for the discipline to write. It takes work to write a novel, and any big project requires discipline to put in the effort and get it done.
• for the ideas and words to come. Whether sitting down to write or brainstorming in bed at night, we can’t move forward without the “building materials” of our trade.
• for patience with the writing process. It’s a long, hard road to write a novel, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed or discouraged and want to throw in the towel. Or to just want the dumb thing done and published already.
• for joy in the writing process. Writing is a miracle. I never want to lose the joy of putting words on paper, having my characters surprise me, or watching a scene unfold beneath my fingers.
• for balance between writing and life. Whether it’s a steady balancing act or a choppy juggling act, there has to be some consistent give-and-take between writing and living. Routine is helpful. Discipline is needed.
• for the resources I need in my research. Any writer hoping to write realistically needs resources: books, people, websites, etc. God can provide the information we need to best write what we want to write.
• for emotional support. This is not a selfish request for attention. All workers (especially artists) appreciate knowing their craft is valued, even if it may not be fully understood. Morale goes a long way for motivation.
• for God to be glorified. This is the heartbeat of my writing and I know many others’ as well. We desire both a process and a product that will ultimately glorify the One who gave us our craft.

If you’re interested in KJ and of the praying sort, I would appreciate your investment of prayers with me in this project.

If you’re a writer, you can pray these things for yourself. I prayed a lot for Trust and Deception, and those three years provided some of my favorite “God stories” of my life (Jms 4:2, Eph 3:20, Is 55:8-9).

Are you a writer? What would you add to this list? No matter your craft, how can you pray for your projects?