Audacious Prayer for our Writing by Natasha Woodcraft

Finding Courage in Kingdom Writing

I regularly plug into the Kingdom Writers network in the USA, finding their online conferences and podcasts a helpful resource and regular encouragement. One of the concepts I've encountered through their teaching about faith-based writing is the idea of praying for 1000 true fans. This builds on Kevin Kelly's influential theory that with 1000 true fans (people who will buy everything you produce and rave about it) you should be able to support creative work full-time. Of course, there are lots of qualifications to that, but it's a generalised principle that many creators, including Christian writers, have embraced.

When I first heard this, it felt incredibly audacious, and certainly not very British. Praying for 1000 true fans? Fans. Really?

But I've come around to the idea and I now actually do this. Over the past year, I've seen great growth in my readership base as God begins to answer this prayer. Which has, quite frankly, surprised me.

Does it feel comfortable to you? If not, let's have a look at some scripture:

A Parable of Audacious Prayer

Then Jesus said to them, "Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, 'Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.' And suppose the one inside answers, 'Don't bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can't get up and give you anything.' I tell you, even though he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet because of your shameless audacity he will surely get up and give you as much as you need.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

— Luke 11:6-10, NIV

If you have time, do flick to it and read the whole passage (verses 1-13).

God Wants Us to Be Audacious

The notes in my Bible say that this is about how we as Christians should act, being generous even when it's inconvenient. I don't buy that. Why? Because this parable is in response to the question "Lord, teach us to pray," in verse 1. This parable is about how to ask for things from our Father, made more abundantly clear by the follow-on in verses 9-13. It appears that, just as God wants us to be persistent (see the persistent widow parable in Luke 18:1-8) so he also wants us to be audacious.

The Boundaries of Audacious Prayer

Does that mean we can ask for anything? Err... no. He goes on to talk about children asking for good things from their father, and him giving them good things, not bad. I'm pretty sure if one of the disciples were to pipe up, "But what if the child asks for a venomous snake?" Jesus would have answered, "Well obviously, the Father won't give him one." 

The passage ends with a promise that God will certainly give the Holy Spirit to those who ask, affirming that the only way to know that we are praying for good things is to firstly pray for the Holy Spirit and secondly, pray in the Spirit as he reveals the Father's will and what is good for us.

Are 1000 True Fans a Good Thing?

So, can 1000 true fans be classed as good for us? Well, that entirely depends on our situation! But my gut is that if God has given you a message and called you to share that message through writing, then he wants to equip you to do that. If that means you need the financial and emotional support of those 1000 true fans, then there is nothing wrong with praying for that! Moreover, God wants us to be audacious. He wants us to ask big and bold! No British politeness here.

In my book "From His Heart to Yours: Scripture-based prayers for Christian Writers," I wrote a prayer for writers based on Ephesians 3 that begins with asking for boldness. This kind of audacious, scripture-based prayer is an example of what Jesus is teaching us about in Luke 11. Feel free to use it yourself!

Give me boldness to approach Your throne of grace 

freely and courageously, 

through faith in Jesus.

For this reason, I kneel before You. 

I bow my knees, Abba. 

Without You, nothing would exist.

Not me,

Nor my reader,

Nor my page.

You know all the hairs on every head. 

Strengthen me from the riches of Your glory, 

Energise me with Your power through the Holy Spirit. 

Holy Spirit, reach into my inner self, 

all my being and personality, 

and plant Yourself there.

Jesus, may You dwell in my heart

so tangibly that I know You are there 

every minute and every hour. 

Make your home in me.

Root me in Your love. 

Ground me like the deep, deep roots 

of the tallest tree – 

like a Cedar of Lebanon,

or a Californian Redwood.

Help me comprehend,

with all God’s people: 

the highest heights, 

the deepest depths, 

the longest lengths 

and the widest widths 

of Your unconditional agapé love. 

Hard Work Still Required

Just to clarify, praying for blessing does not let us off the hook. I am still fully committed to putting in the hard work to make sure that what I am writing is excellent and nurturing my readership base. This is biblical entrepreneurship - combining prayer with practical action. Do not neglect these people that God blesses you with but pray for them as well. The Father has saved us into a family and anyone he draws towards us should be treated like family, not like anonymous customers. That's how you build 'true fans' anyway. You build relationship. Can we have personal relationship with 1000 people? Of course not. But we can ensure we focus not on selling them something but on blessing them with something.

Your Turn to Be Audacious

So I encourage you Christian authors to give it a try. Next time you are praying over your writing ministry, ask God whether this is something you should be praying for and see where it goes... I'm not there yet, but I'm committed to a persistent and audacious journey. Bring it on!

Natasha Woodcraft lives in a slightly crumbling farmhouse in Lincolnshire with her family of boys and menagerie of animals. She believes stories have power to communicate deep truth and transform lives. Her published novels explore God’s redemptive purposes for ordinary, messy people living in biblical times. Natasha is also on the team at Broad Place Publishing.