Unanswered Prayers

Are you old enough to appreciate unanswered prayers?

That was the question posed by the evangelist at our church in his message Saturday night. As usual, his question sent me off on a tangent (ahem!) and I started thinking about how many of my prayers regarding my writing career haven’t been answered when or how I wanted.

It also got me to thinking how I felt about those unanswered prayers three or four (or more!) years later.

So, I asked some of my Seeker Sisters about unanswered prayers and how they viewed them after a period of time has lapsed.

“Everything that has happened in my publishing career has been a God thing . My agent was due to a connection with another author, I had pretty much given up on finding an agent when it happened. I love her. I love that I can talk plain to her and she is normal. The genre I ended up selling in was a God thing. I wasn't sure where I was supposed to be but it's like I planted the seeds and this is what grew. He knew the harvest and the timing. And my Seeker sisters were a total God thing, because I was not looking for another group to join. If there is one thing I have learned in this journey it's to cast my cares on Him.” Anonymous

I can so relate to the above. Every sentence has my name written all over it, even though I DIDN’T write it. God shook his head many times for me, and said, “Not yet, beloved. Not yet. You’re not ready.” It was hard to accept at the time, but looking back, I know He was right. He always is, isn’t he? Thank you, God, for unanswered prayers.

“My unanswered prayer was that the first manuscript that I sent out to agents, The Corinthian Rules, did NOT get bought. At the time I didn't realize how inane the writing was, although my voice was strong. Voice is not everything--the writing has to be good, too, and that manuscript definitely was NOT. If it had been bought, I'd have either had an absolutely horrible revision or I'd have been heartily ashamed it was published after a few years, or I'd have gotten reamed in Amazon ratings. Well, I still got 1-star reviews on Amazon with Sushi for One, but at least with Sushi, I'm confident the writing is as strong as I could make it, and although people don't like it, well, I know did my best.” Camy Tang

I look back at some of the projects I submitted, even projects that were almost picked up by publishing houses and cringe, knowing my writing wasn’t ready. Yes, at the time, I thought it was great, and maybe it was the best I could do, but now I know it could have been so much better. Thank you, editors, for not publishing my work way back then! And thank you, God, for unanswered prayers!

“Through twelve years of struggling to make a sale of one of my novels, I actually gave up a couple of times. But God always gave me some encouragement to keep me going (like positive editor feedback or a contest final). And though it seemed to take forever, once I did sell--and jumped right into revisions and art fact sheets and line edits and copy edits and promo--I realized I would NOT have been ready for all that years earlier. I'm now a firm believer in God's perfect timing. So hang in there and trust that God knows what He's doing! (Yeah, I know. That's one of those "duh" things, but something I had to learn.)” Missy Tippens
I love this quote from Missy! You know why? She brought something out that I hadn’t thought of before. Even though God has said, “Not now,” many times during this writing journey of mine, he’s always given me something to encourage me, to keep me going and believing as I perfected my craft. Thanks, Missy, for that wonderful reminder, and thank you, God, for unanswered prayers.

“Years ago when I finaled in the Noble Theme, I had an agent appointment with a well-known agent - well, actually two of them who said exactly the same thing: "Congratulations on finaling in the Noble Theme. So you write about cowboys? Well, sorry to say, but no one is buying cowboy/western right now. But good luck!" Talk about bursting my bubble! I won the Noble Theme in Contemporary Romance that year and ended up talking to Joan Marlow Golan. She congratulated me and asked what the book was about. I gave her a quick two sentence pitch. AND THEN told her she wouldn't be interested in it because cowboy stories are dead, so I'll have to write something else. Can you imagine the look she gave me? She gave an encouraging/indulgent smile as she handed me her card. She loved cowboys and if the ms was complete, told me to send it to one of her editors. Wow. That book didn't sell, but the next one did...to Steeple Hill. I love Joan for knowing what I’d been told and making an effort to correct the error of information : )” Audra Harders
As Missy and Audra told us, timing is everything. God’s timing. God is the best editor we have, and he’s looking over our shoulders, shaking his head at our determination to rush ahead of his plan for us.

Each rejection, failure, or low contest score hurts, but I’m stretching my wings and growing my craft every time I put my work out there. I look back at some of my rejections now and I’m thankful that God didn’t answer those prayers the way I prayed. Because like Camy said, I’d have some work out there that I wouldn’t be all that proud of.

Thank you, God, for unanswered prayers!

Have you learned to appreciate unanswered prayers regarding your writing?

If you haven’t, you just might not be “old”* enough yet.


*Old used in this context has nothing to do with your real age. :)

Meeting God in His Place

Conferences can be pretty emotional for some people, so the prayer room at ACFW stays busy. There are volunteers in the softly lit room during the day to pray with people or if someone wants to pray by themselves, they can go there for a little peace and quiet or just to regroup.

(Reminds me of the 7 or 8 churches on the ten mile stretch on the road that runs in front of my house. Something to think about, hmmm?)

What are some reasons people need a shoulder to cry on or an understanding friend at conferences? Writing conferences aren’t just reunions, they’re business meetings. Attendees want to make a good impression because they’re meeting with industry professionals to talk about books, stories, contracts.

Jobs.

If you’ve ever had a job interview, this should make perfect sense to you.

Some people have been reaching for the brass ring of publishing for many years. I know of people who have written 10, 20, and 30 manuscripts over a period of 20 or 25 years and they're still trying to break in. Some are on the verge of giving up when they finally sell their first manuscript. That adds up to a lot of people who are anxious and excited and afraid at the same time. They’ve faced a ton of interviews. No wonder they get a little sick to their stomach at the thought of another one!

Joshua 1:9 says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD your God is with you wheresoever you go.”

Several years ago a lady had a major meltdown a couple of days into the conference. Some of it stemmed from problems she and her family faced at home: Problems that had been escalating over a period of years. They’d endured one financial disaster after another. In a last ditch effort to provide for his family, they moved to a different state where they knew no one so her husband would have a better chance at landing his dream job, only to have that door slammed in his face.

A group of friends prayed for her, but for the longest time, she was silent and didn't show any emotion whatsoever. Every once in awhile, she'd say that she couldn't take it anymore, that everyone kept saying that this was a trial and she would come out stronger in the end. But that just seemed like a slap in the face when she felt so defeated. Every time she thought things were getting better, she'd be handed something and have it snatched back.

When someone is going through a struggle, what can we say? How should we say it? I didn't know what to say to help her. All I could do was pray with the others. But by having understanding friends who prayed for her, and lifted her up, she began climbing out of the dark place that held her captive. She sought God again, and he helped her in her darkest hour.

1 John 3:22 “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His Commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.”

Some of us who prayed for her were going through some tough times ourselves. One lady had some serious health issues, another faced financial woes, another worried about her children. But that didn’t stop us from offering comfort and encouragement to the one most in need at that moment. So focusing on others instead of our own problems and pain can help us to feel better ourselves.

Another friend had experienced rejection from publishing houses. She was tired and feeling defeated and thinking that maybe she would never be a published author. At the time, she was a finalist in one of the unpublished categories of a contest and to others, might have seemed like she had it all together. But she still felt like she’d never become a published author, and see tangible fruit from her labor. She hoped to just meet someone who would lift her spirits and say something that would encourage her. At one conference, a woman she barely knew asked if she could pray with her and said to send someone to lift her up, and speak words of encouragement to her….words similar to what my friend had prayed for herself but hadn’t told anybody else.

Isn’t that just like God?

Another friend stated that she spent the months after receiving her first contract, "convinced they would figure out they'd made a mistake!"

This was said partly in fun, but there is a grain of truth to her worry that maybe it was all a mistake. Sometimes we have to accept God’s perfect will in his perfect time. Easier said than done, I know. But we really don’t have a choice, do we?

And, yes, the friends I've mentioned here are all multi-published authors now. They’re all wonderful storytellers who worked hard at perfecting their craft, but you what they did that was even more important? They met God in His place.

Sounds like the perfect interview to me.

God will grant you the desires of your heart

One of the reasons it took me so long to get a book published…besides of course that I was no good…was that, at the beginning, what I wanted to write didn’t fit anywhere. The world of Christian fiction is wide open now, but fifteen years ago it barely existed.

The primary publisher of first time authors was Harlequin. They have a lot of lines these days, but that wasn’t always true. Except for Silhouette romances, which were really sweet, the few other lines had profanity and fairly graphic bedroom scenes. This wasn’t something I was willing to write. So with the exception of Silhouette, my books didn’t fit anywhere. I still remember vividly reading that Harlequin was opening a line of Christian romances called Love Inspired. They did this, I’d say, because books like the Left Behind series proved there was a huge market for books that included people of faith. I believe I was writing for ten years for an area of fiction that hadn’t been born.

There’s a line in Petticoat Ranch that says, “Pastor Roscoe had come west as an answer to a prayer that Sophie wouldn’t even begin praying for five years."

I like to think of God being ahead of us. Preparing us in ways we haven’t even imagined. He did this for me. I’m a firm believer that dreams can come true. And we need to make God a partner in our dreams. Praying for ourselves, for a thing like getting a book published seemed wrong, even sinful. Asking God for what I wanted seemed worldly, but I did it anyway.

I prayed hard for God to grant me this desire of my heart.

In Luke Chapter 18, Jesus tells this parable. Yes, Jesus was a storyteller, I love that. He tells the parable of the woman who went before the corrupt judge over and over asking for justice. In other words, she nagged.

The judge gave her justice just to get her off his back. The end of that story goes, “If the corrupts judge will give someone justice, how much more will your Father in Heaven give you justice.”

So, I nagged the Lord. It felt wrong, selfish. When I prayed there was a niggling place in my heart that would way, “You don’t pray for your children this much. You don’t pray for your friend who is sick this much. You don’t pray for your unchurched neighbors this much."

But still I prayed. I did add to my basic prayer though. After each time of pausing to pray, “Lord, help me get a book published." I added, “And let me write something worthy.” Worthy of God. Words that a person might read and be touched, changed, their hearts lightened, their faith strengthened, their unbelief challenged.

I’m telling you about the prayers because God gave me the deep desire of my heart. God blessed my words and my work. My dream came true and I don’t believe it was wrong of me pray for this. To put my hopes and dreams in the able hands of my Savior. I want all of you to let God into your dream. I want you to think about prayer in a new way. It’s not sinful to ask God for what you want. It’s more likely that it’s a sin NOT to ask. It’s wrong to keep God out of something this important to you.

Say the prayer to God with joy. Pursue the dream and desires of your heart in partnership with God.