#167: Prayer for Reaching the Halfway Mark

Let's pray for endurance to reach the halfway mark of your first draft. So we call this kind of the half draft. And maybe you've started writing, but now you feel yourself losing momentum and doubt is creeping in, or you're wondering if your words even matter. It's where the inner critic starts, really coming on strong. And this is where so many writers stop. But this time you don't have to, because God has called you to this kingdom, writers, and he will give you the endurance to keep going. C.J. why don't you pray for us as we press on towards the halfway point of our first draft?

Yeah. And our. Our scripture for this prayer is Nehemiah 4, 6. And it says, at last the wall was completed to half its height around the entire city, for the people had worked with enthusiasm.

And, Father, I am praying right now for each of us that we would be able to work with enthusiasm, an enthusiasm that comes from knowing that we're doing what you've called us to. An enthusiasm that comes from an excitement of partnering with you and even being having a privilege of undertaking this call to write words that outlive us, perhaps. And I do pray, Lord, that you would give each and every one of us a supernatural enthusiasm that would allow us to not just get halfway, but really, we might even look at it like it's halftime. We think of these games like the super bowl or any big sporting event, and there's a halftime. It's a time to regroup. It's a time to rehydrate. It's a time to receive new motivation from the coach. It's a time to know where each of us are, to work, what we're to do, what our assignment is, and to go back out there for the second half and say, I have a renewed enthusiasm.

Yes.

So, Father, would you do that in each of us? Would you allow us to be refreshed? Would you supply a divine aid station our way that we can take from and be able to be rejuvenated? So, Lord, we thank you for this victory we're going to celebrate. When each of us gets to that halfway point, we're going to take a deep breath and we're going to say, lord, strengthen us for the second half. And we ask this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. So the picture I got as I was praying for you, those of you that are working towards getting to that halfway point, it's like, oh, I'm almost there. And we actually just created this as a new milestone in the kingdom writer's path and my graphic designer created as a bonus when you get there, a mid draft momentum map. It's like a map to help you map out the rest of your thing. But also there's a mid draft momentum training. So we've been thinking about this and I've been praying for you, you in this. And I think this is the phase. We've been working with writers for a long time now. I think this can be the phase where you almost start to wonder, does any of this even make sense? Should I even just scrap the whole thing and start over? Has anyone thought that or had that come across your mind when you're like in this messy middle, you're in this. I don't even know if this could ever make sense to anyone. And. And the picture I got was a carnival mirror, those ones that are all like wavy and some of them make you look really tall and skinny, some of you make you look really short and fat or whatever. But they're distorting your image. And I feel that some of you right now you're looking at your manuscript and the enemy is coming before you or your inner critic and whatever it is, and it's distorting the image of your manuscript to you. You're so close to it. You've been writing it, you've been laboring over it, partnering with God, but now you're just like this. Just, I don't even know. This doesn't even seem like what I. The vision I had for it. And so I want to pray for you to break these lies that the enemy is bringing before you right now. God, thank you so much for getting us to this point. This messy middle. And yet it can feel really uncomfortable. And we can often just look at our manuscript, like looking into that carnival mirror and everything just looks wrong and it just feels, I'm just going to burn it all down or I'm going to start over on something new. And part of that is because we get the dopamine hit in our brains, that chemical dopamine, when we start something new. So we start something new and we never finish. But Lord, help us to see, help us to recognize when there are lies coming against us from the enemy that are saying you're not good enough or this isn't going to make any sense to anyone. And help us to push through, to press on towards the prize, towards the goal that you have for us and to be able to defeat the enemy in Jesus name. Not in our own strength, not in our own manner of doing things, but in your strength. So we just ask Lord, for that you would break off any lies right now that are over any of these Kingdom writers about their manuscript. Break it off in Jesus name. And Lord, may you fill them with your love and your pleasure and that you are pleased with them. And this is just the messy middle. They're going to edit it, they're going to hire an editor, they're going to get it to a place where it is presentable. It still is that construction zone. And Lord, thank you for breaking off any lies over us right now. In Jesus name.

Amen.