What a Privilege!
The lyrics of an old, treasured hymn remind me “what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer.” And it’s an even greater privilege for me to join in prayer every month with a trusted group of friends and fellow authors. The six of us have been praying together through the magic of Skype for some time, now. We live thousands of miles apart—Elizabeth Musser is in France, Susan Meissner in California, and the rest of us (Robin Johns Grant, Deborah Raney, Sharon Garlough Brown, and I) are scattered around in the middle in two different time zones. Yet we “meet” regularly to pray for each other and for our calling as writers.
Being an author can be a lonely and isolated profession at times, but we don’t need to feel alone. My prayer partners understand the challenges that come with editors and deadlines and book contracts. We can pool our collective wisdom to help each other resolve problems, while offering sympathy and understanding. All six of us know how difficult it is to balance our writing, our faith, and our family lives, and how a concern in one area effects all of the others. Their prayers have helped me maintain that delicate balance and have enriched my books.
During our on-line prayer times and in the weeks between meetings, I’ve felt reassured, knowing my friends are praying for me, just as I’m praying for them. Along with their prayers, my partners have offered me wisdom, understanding and friendship. And when we’ve seen answers to our prayers, all six of us celebrate and rejoice together.
“Oh, what peace we often forfeit!” the hymn says. “Oh, what needless pain we bear! All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.” Praying together is life-giving. Shared burdens are lighter, shared joys more joyous. Might you be able to find a group of friends to pray with on a regular basis? Distance is no longer an obstacle thanks to modern technology. And the benefits of communal prayer are life-changing.
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Visit my sister in faith and fiction Elizabeth Musser to learn How It All Began and a chance to win her novel The Sweetest Thing! Click the picture below to visit the next blog post from my friend, Elizabeth.
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A week from today, I will be leaving on a book-signing and speaking tour in the 
Now that my Restoration Chronicles series is complete, I’m giving away a free set of these three books to one of my readers. The series is based on the biblical books of Ezra and Nehemiah, so take this True/False quiz first to see how much you remember about them:
How did you do? Don’t feel bad if you didn’t know all of the answers. I didn’t either until I began researching this series! But you can learn everything you need to know by reading my Restoration Chronicles. Book One, Return to Me, tells how the Jews who had been exiled to Babylon returned to their homeland to rebuild God’s Temple—the same Temple where Jesus later worshipped (although it was greatly embellished by King Herod). Book Two, Keepers of the Covenant, tells the story of the second wave of immigrants who returned, led by Ezra the teacher and priest. Book Three, On This Foundation, tells the story of Nehemiah, who took a leave of absence from the Persian king’s court to rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
