3 Ways to Invite Revival into Your Writing

Ever felt the taunt of the blinking cursor? You know, blank page, your heart beating in sync with the flashing line on the computer screen—the wonder of what on earth you will write? The desire to tell our story, inspire transformation, or cause people to live with deeper faith can sometimes feel daunting, can’t it? The weight of the responsibility holds our creativity captive. We need to feel a fresh wind of faith ourselves to move forward. 

Here are three ways to invite revival into your writing.

1. Get A Fresh Vision of God.

Oftentimes we read Christian books or study our Bibles to prepare for our own writing and speaking. As well we should. But we must also make time to read solely for the act of worshipping Him ourselves. Otherwise, we begin to seek information only, rather than personal transformation. We forget that we’re trying to convey information about El Elyon—The Most High God. Try studying something new in your Bible where you have not gone deeply before. God brought revival to my own heart through the prophecies of Ezekiel. In what area of Scripture have you not spent much time?

Another option is to read some Christian fiction based upon a character of the Bible with whom you are not familiar, or one you love deeply. Meet a new character in Scripture by doing a word study of that person. Imagine you are writing a trade book on marriage; study married couples in Scripture. Priscilla and Aquila come to mind. But there are certainly plenty of other examples as well. Who in Scripture wrestles with the topic you present in your book? Study specifically how God interacts with them in that struggle and glean transformational lessons. I studied Moses to help overcome my Imposter Syndrome and God’s words to Moses brought great healing to my heart. The Bible is not simply a book to be explained; it is a book to be obeyed. Let’s make sure we keep reading it that way. 

2. Experience Power in Prayer.

When I studied Paul’s life, I noticed something profound. Paul emphasized that no matter how much information he gave to the fledgling churches, only prayer would ultimately empower and embolden them to live changed lives. If we stood on stages or sold thousands of books, but no one’s life was ever changed, would we deem ourselves successful? We must invite prayer into our personal lives and over our words, spoken or written. Only the Spirit can transform lives, and God moves through prayer. Assemble a prayer team and pray daily yourself.

3. Come as A Beggar.

I love this Andrew Murray quote from his book, Absolute Surrender: “The cause of the weakness of your Christian life is that you want to work it out partly, and to let God help you. And that cannot be. You must come to be utterly helpless, to let God work, and God will work gloriously. It is this we need if we are, indeed, to be workers for God.”

God does not need us. He does not need our words. He invites us to be part of His work, which honestly, could be accomplished so much more effectively without us. But for some reason known only to Him, He invites us to serve Him. If we want to invite revival into our writing, we come as beggars. We realize we have nothing to offer but our willingness. And we beg Him to work in and through us.

Andrew Murray, Oswald Chambers, Charles Spurgeon, D.L. Moody, Elisabeth Elliot were all people of revival. Their words continue to impact us years after they were originally written. As Peter said, “but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit,” (2 Peter 1:21). Let us be men and women of revival and speak not ourselves, but under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Let’s invite revival into our writing. 

Question:  How do you invite revival into your writing and speaking?