40 days and 40 nights

I was inspired to create this blog from something I read in the book, The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson. (More on this book and the concept of making prayer circles to come later…)

The author wrote about a time in his life when he was working on his first book. I read this on Thursday, August 1, 2013 while sitting in my car eating my lunch and having some quiet time with the Lord:

“I don’t just write books; I circle them in prayer. To me, writing is praying with a keyboard. I also recruited a team of circle makers to pray for me while I wrote the book. Then we prayed circles around the people who would buy the book. We specifically prayed that God would get the book into the right hands at the right time… To me, a book sold is not a book sold; it’s a prayer answered.”

“I was a frustrated writer for thirteen years. I dreamed of writing a book, but I could never seem to finish a manuscript. The turning point was when I drew a circle around the dream during forty days of prayer and fasting. I fasted from all forms of entertainment to stay focused on my goal. Then I stepped into a writing circle with a Honi-like determination that I wasn’t coming out until I had a manuscript in my hand. Forty days later, the dream became a reality. I didn’t write that book; I prayed that book.”

This really jumped out at me, because I have felt very much the same – dreaming of “one day” writing a book, but never getting very far or finishing anything.

I felt like the Holy Spirit was prompting me to do a forty day fast from so many of the distractions in my life and focus solely on my book. As is the way with God’s timing, the day I read this was August 1st, a perfect time to start my 40-day “fast.” I have taken a break from teaching piano lessons in order to work on my book. I am attending a writer’s conference at the end of August, at which time I will be doing a “manuscript critique” with an agent at the conference.

What better time to do this? I also felt the prompting to create this site and invite a few chosen people to come alongside me and pray with me during these forty days, and beyond as the journey of this book continues.

I did a quick word study on “forty days” in the Bible this morning. I found some interesting facts. When God put Noah and his family in the ark, it rained for forty days and nights. (Sounds a little like this summer in Georgia, doesn’t it?) When Moses met with God on Mount Sinai, where God gave him the Ten Commandments, he was on the mount with God for forty days and forty nights. And of course, after Jesus was baptized, He went into the desert for forty days and forty nights to be alone with His Father before He faced the tempation of the devil.

So, here I am, starting my 40-day journey. I “officially” started on August 1 and should end on September 9. My plan is to spend my evenings and weekend free time working on the book instead of doing other things, such as watching TV, reading for entertainment, playing on the computer, etc.

I will update this site frequently to let you know how it’s going and how you can pray for me. I’m excited to see what God will do in forty days!