At the Palm Sunday service, I had the privilege of praying. As I thought about what to pray, I remembered a prayer I penned several weeks ago for the publishing industry. I reworked and reworded it. Several have asked for a copy. So here it is in its final form:
Please be with all of us who struggle to write words that honor You. We are only as good as Your strength behind our pens. We confess that we've let the worry of the world collide with our spirits, allowing stress to be our mantra rather than praise. Convict us when we trust the almighty dollar rather than Your provision.
Would You return us to the sheer joy of writing for Your renown? Would you remind us afresh that our words are tools You use to bless a dying, needy world? Help us to honor You first in our families, churches, relationships. And helps us engage Your world with a pure heart. We want to be a people with dirty hands and clean hearts.
I lift of up this industry, peopled with folks just like us who worry, hurt, and marvel. Would You sift through what is written so that our words stir the Body of Christ to new life? Would You help us all long for redemptive, convicting, true, honorable words?
What a privilege it is to write for You--the One who died and resurrected on our behalf. May it be that any shred of fame that comes our way is only a vehicle to make You famous. We bow down to You, the Word made flesh. Please give us Your words, even if those words mess with folks, shatter myths, or shake the sleeping. Help us follow You down the narrow, craggy path, through crevices and peaks, in the valleys and the dregs, so we can hear You one day say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Amen.
Would You return us to the sheer joy of writing for Your renown? Would you remind us afresh that our words are tools You use to bless a dying, needy world? Help us to honor You first in our families, churches, relationships. And helps us engage Your world with a pure heart. We want to be a people with dirty hands and clean hearts.
I lift of up this industry, peopled with folks just like us who worry, hurt, and marvel. Would You sift through what is written so that our words stir the Body of Christ to new life? Would You help us all long for redemptive, convicting, true, honorable words?
What a privilege it is to write for You--the One who died and resurrected on our behalf. May it be that any shred of fame that comes our way is only a vehicle to make You famous. We bow down to You, the Word made flesh. Please give us Your words, even if those words mess with folks, shatter myths, or shake the sleeping. Help us follow You down the narrow, craggy path, through crevices and peaks, in the valleys and the dregs, so we can hear You one day say, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Amen.
6 comments:
Mary,
Thanks for posting this. I meant to find you and ask you for a copy, but never did. Love it--thank you!
Blessings.
Beautiful, Mary! What awesome words of the heart. My heart's desire. I wish I had been there. Thank you for sharing this with those of us who stayed behind. Blessings to you!
Ahhhhhhhhhhh. Amen and so be it!
I'm saving this in a file to remember and refer back to. If you replace the word "writing" with "living," it really applies to any and every Christian, since all of our lives involve communicating with our culture.
Thank you so much for sharing. This was the right word at the right time for me.
Mary, your prayer was a blessing at Mount Hermon. I'm going to keep it next to my computer for a while as I process all I learned, sort out the opportunities in front of me and write my heart out.
Thanks for being a blessing to so many!
I wasn't able to attend Mount Hermon, so I truly appreciate your posting this prayer.
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