S3 E30 - Writer's Block. Prayer Block.

Today I really struggled - I just didn't know what to write. It's not that I didn't have an idea of what I wanted to say, but I just couldn't say it. We've all struggled with writer's block before I'm sure, and it's in those times you wish people could just look into your heart or your mind to know what it is you're feeling or thinking. Well...that's exactly what the Holy Spirit does when we struggle with what to pray. He searches our inward most parts, and even if the words don't come out, God knows what we're thinking and feeling. Thank God for his intercession! 

#SetYourMindAbovePodcast

Transcript

What if I told you that God could be seen in the most ordinary things every day? 

What if I told you that every day, ordinary events could teach us extraordinary eternal truths?

Would you believe me? 
 Hi, I’m BJ Sipe – and you’re listening to the Set Your Mind Above Podcast. 

I am a Christian, a preacher, a husband, and a father.

Thanks for tuning in!

For any of those that have ever done any extensive amount of writing before, I know what I am about to describe is something that you personally have suffered through yourself. It doesn’t matter what you’re writing either – it could be a paper for school. It could be a song you’re trying to write. It could be a sermon you’re preparing to deliver. It could even be a podcast you’re trying to record, much like myself today. You sit there, pull out your paper or open up your laptop and stare at the blank white page sitting in front of you. And there you sit, thinking, pondering, struggling. It’s not that you don’t have anything to say or a direction that you want to go, but in this moment absolutely nothing is coming to you. This is what is commonly referred to as writers block, and nearly all of us have experienced it in some form or fashion in our lives. The worst part about writer’s block is the harder you think, the further you seem from being able to put words to the page. There are different levels to writer’s block as well. Sometimes it is merely an inability to come up with any original work or ideas of your own. In these cases, especially if you write for a living, people can find themselves frustrated because it can even take a period of months or years before you finally have a breakthrough. Luckily, I don’t normally find myself in this kind of situation, but today I certainly was struggling with writer’s block when it came to the podcast. My juices were flowing incredibly well when it came to sermon prep and other areas this week, but the more I thought about what I wanted to speak on with the podcast the less I was able to come up with. Thursday finally came, and today I started my day off at Dry Stack, and as I was wrapping up my time there I was still coming up empty. I packed my things up and took a walk around downtown to see if I could find any inspiration in the things around me: people, places, weather, signs, construction, etc. My walking took me to another local coffee shop, The Hub, where I sat down and opened my laptop back up to my blank page glaring intently back at me with piercing eyes at this point. I sat drinking my pumpkin chai latte, struggling to overcome my writers block today. So finally, I texted my wife Kylie and told her, “Really struggling with the podcast today.” I’ll do this from time to time because when I’m facing writer’s block, frequently having a quick conversation with my wife will inspire me in some form or fashion. Either something she shares or offers is exactly what I needed, and then I’m off to the races. She texted back that she was sorry, and started offering some suggestions for sources of inspiration, but nothing was working. I sat there, staring at my phone and wondering if I was going to have to put off the podcast until tomorrow. As I sat there debating this, I said to myself, “I wish I could just have some way of saying exactly what it is I want and need to say, even though I have no idea how or what to say.” It was in that moment that it hit me, the spiritual connection and epiphany to what I was experiencing in this very moment of what I needed to say. 

We’ve all experienced writer’s block in some form or fashion, but there is another kind of block that each of us have faced as well in our lives – and that is in our prayers. We pray for all kinds of things in our life, don’t we? We have prayers of thanksgiving, prayers on behalf of others, prayers of confession and repentance, prayers for strength or wisdom, prayers for justice. And yet, in these moments, have you ever found yourself completely struggling with your words, not knowing what to pray for? I can think of so many times that I specifically suffered from prayer block, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not come up with the words that I wanted to say to God. I spent the night before my wedding in a lot of prayer nearly 9 years ago, and yet much of that time was spent in silence, not knowing exactly what I should be asking God for. I remember after each one of my children were born thanking God for the miracle of life, and yet struggling to find words adequate enough to express my gratitude to him. I remember times where I fell hard, guilty of grievous sin in my life that had hurt myself and others, and struggling to even know what to say to God through my broken heart. I remember times when someone was on the verge of death, and I found myself struggling what to pray to God for, their recovery or their deliverance from the pain of this world through death. 

While I don’t have much a solution for you when it comes to writers block, praise be to God that we are told the following most encouraging words concerning our prayers in Romans 8:26-27. “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” There are going to be many times in our lives that we go to our closet to petition our Lord, and yet when we go to open our mouths the words just aren’t there. For one reason or another the words completely escape us, and we just don’t know what to say. It’s not that we don’t have anything to say, but we just cannot make the connection from our heart to our head exactly what it is we are feeling or thinking. If you find yourself in this circumstance, take heart, because the Spirit of God knows exactly what it is what we are trying to bring before the throne of our Father. The Spirit searches the innermost parts of us, and there is nothing that is hidden from his view. Even if we don’t know what to say, he does. The next time you don’t know what to pray, I would encourage you to open to the Psalms and just read Psalm 139, then let the Spirit do the rest. We will not read the whole Psalm, but let’s conclude with vv. 1-16, and then vv. 23-24. “Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I stand up; you understand my thoughts from far away. You observe my travels and my rest; you are aware of all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you know all about it, Lord. You have encircled me; you have placed your hand on me. This wondrous knowledge is beyond me. It is lofty; I am unable to reach it. Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I live at the eastern horizon or settle at the western limits, even there your hand will lead me; your right hand will hold on to me. If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me, and the light around me will be night”— even the darkness is not dark to you. The night shines like the day; darkness and light are alike to you. For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began… Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my concerns. See if there is any offensive way in me; lead me in the everlasting way.” 

Thank you for tuning in for this week’s episode, and I would invite you back every Thursday for a brand-new episode each week. If you haven’t already, be sure to find us on Facebook for future announcements or even some special video sessions. If you have benefited from this podcast, share it with someone else that you think would benefit from it also. Until next time, know that I love you, that God loves you, and may we all each & every day set our minds above.