Freelance Writers: How to Hear the Voice of God for Your Writing Business

10/20/2014

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Freelance Writers: How to Hear The Voice of God for Your Writing Business

Written by Freelance Writer and Author, William Ballard

If you could actually receive guidance from God for your writing business, would it make a difference?

And I don’t mean only reading the Bible or a devotional, and getting some good principles for being moral and upright business people. What I mean is hearing God’s voice guide you with specific advice, about your specific situation, problems, and opportunities.

It is possible, and rather than try to convince you with a theological argument, I’d like to propose you simply try it, and see for yourself what happens. Here are 5 steps to help you hear the voice of God for your writing business:

1. Inviting God to Be a Part of Your Writing Business

It sounds simple, but I think it is often overlooked. God has granted us each the inspiring, and a somewhat terrifying ability to accept or refuse His gifts. If we don’t invite Him into our affairs, including our writing business, He’s not going to force His way in.

So we begin by inviting Him to be a part of the work that we cherish so dear. In the book of James, we are promised that if any of us lack wisdom, all we have to do is ask God and He will grant it. That’s exactly what you’re doing when you make this invitation. And let me add that this is one of the best invitations that you will ever make.

This doesn’t have to be anything fancy or ceremonial. You could start by having a quiet moment before your workday begins, and praying something simple: “Lord, I invite you into my writing business today. Give me ideas, insights, revelations, and spiritual awareness to make the right decisions and to say the right thing in every situation that I face today.”

2. Conversations With God

If I invite you to a party and you show up but I never talk to you, and I never listen to you, how much communication takes place? Exactly. Zero.

So it’s not enough just to invite God into your business. He will be faithful to show up, but you need to treat Him as if you would an honored guest at a dinner party.

Pay attention to Hi, and listen to what He says. Ask Him questions. Communication is never one-sided. I believe God desires a dialogue with us, not a monologue (on either side.) So have a conversation!

3. Consider What God Says and Actually Give it Positive Thought

So you have invited God into your writing business. You have been in conversation with Him, learning to hear His voice, and becoming sensitive to what He has to say to you. The next step is actually positively considering what He has to say.

Here’s the thing: When you invite God into your writing business He is going to have opinions about what you should do, and what you shouldn’t do. He is going to have ideas and suggestions for you.

Sometimes they may just “pop into your mind” like popcorn, and you might wonder if they are your thoughts or His? Learning to discern the difference is part of the conversation step. However, the only way you’ll ever learn is to actually try to positively consider what God is saying to you.

Sometimes, you may mistake your own voice for His (trust me this does happen), but over time, as you consider the ideas that He plants inside your heart and mind, which is through His voice, you will become more and more familiar with it. And it is only through this cooperation that you can move to the next step – implementation.

4. Apply What God Has Said

While I think of considering what God has to say as a form of agreement, a way of saying, “Yes, God, that is a good idea. We should definitely think about doing that.” There is a step beyond just consideration and cooperation (or agreement): this is the step of application.

I fully believe that God blesses us far beyond what we can ask, imagine, or even deserve. I believe that He is interested in every detail of our lives, including our writing life. I believe that He can swing amazing writing opportunities are way, that He gives us ideas that will make our writing business profitable, and that He influences people to do business with us when it’s in the best interest of both parties.

At the same time, working with God, and having God with us at work, does not mean that we are completely passive. Bill Johnson once said, “Jesus didn’t accomplish everything so that you could accomplish nothing.” I would tend to agree and I would take it one step further, and say that Jesus accomplished everything so that you could accomplish anything… in His name.

What this means is we have to actually apply the ideas, strategies, and tactics God gives to us (during the conversation step). If you’re a farmer, for instance, God might give you a plan for a new crop rotation schedule that could cause your land to yield better harvests. But if you never get up and plow the fields, tend the crops, and bring in the harvest, you’ll never reap the reward. Which brings us to…

5. Reaping the Harvest (Or Manifestation)

This is the step we all would like to jump to. We would like to start with reaping our harvest (or manifesting our writing success). It’s the whole idea of that New Age book (and movie) “The Secret” : that thinking will make it so. For instance, this thinking goes, if I just sit and visualize a brand-new Mercedes long enough and hard enough, it will just “show up” in my driveway.

You and I both know that is completely nonsense.

Now there is nothing wrong with you wanting or owning a Mercedes. There is nothing wrong with you building the wealth to be able to afford one. In fact, doing so blesses and provides provision for the people who created the car, those who manufactured it, those who delivered it, sold it, detailed it, and who service it. And all the other people in between.

As long as you don’t worship the thing, and as long as you understand that success is about more than accumulating earthly riches, I believe you’re free to enjoy the rewards of your labor. It’s been said that if you “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness” that everything else will be added to you. This doesn’t mean that if you decide the thing you want most in life is a Rolex, you should seek God’s Kingdom in order to get it.

However, it does mean that if your desire for a Rolex is not motivated by greed, or the idolatrous worship of money and earthly things (vanity), that God certainly has no problem with you owning a nice watch. If you seek first His Kingdom, and that’s all you seek, you will get your heart’s desire-because you will never desire anything that is outside of His Kingdom.

Please understand these 5 steps are not some kind of magic formula.

They are rather a description of the natural process that happens when we are in deep relationship with someone we love.

When we are in love, we invite our loved one into our life, we have deep conversations with them, we positively consider their desires because we want them to be happy, we apply the plans that we cultivate together, and we enjoy the harvest of our joined hearts desires.

That, my friends, is how you invite God into your writing business. That is how you see tangible results and God-given answers to your questions and concerns.

I challenge you to simply take these 5 steps, and then watch for the results.

Question: Do you have a story of how God has helped you in your writing business or in your job? Please share it below!

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Recommended Resource

The True Writer's Life: Discovering the Author and Finisher of Our Faith - By William Ballard

This book has the potential to transform aspiring writers into published authors!

Inside every reader is a writer, and inside every writer is a spiritual being, but even deeper than that, every spiritual being has the ability to tap into the mind and heart of God. More Details >>

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About the Author
William Ballard is the proud author of, "The True Writer's Life: Discovering the Author and Finisher of Our Faith".

He has been writing professionally for over 10+ years and has much experience within the industry, both in publishing and in freelance writing. He has successfully self-published over 10 books and eBooks. Visit his Amazon Author Page to see list of his most recent projects.

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