“Did you pray before you wrote this?” My wife Christine laid down the devotion and smiled at me.

I forgot to pray. I knew my writing showed it. With a sheepish grin, I crumpled the paper.

“Let me try again after I spend time with the Lord.”

“Brilliant idea!”

Writers want their words to matter—to make an impact. We want our stories, devotions, articles, and books to carry purpose. Yet meaningful writing does not begin with better technique. It begins with the company we keep.

A few years ago, I went skydiving. Since I had never done it before, I was strapped to a professional instructor for a tandem jump. I signed the waivers, climbed into the plane, and tried not to think about what I had agreed to do.

At 10,000 feet, reality set in. It is one thing to talk about skydiving. It is another thing to sit at the edge of an open airplane door and wonder why a birthday cake had not been enough.

Then we jumped.

The wind pulled at us with force, yet I was secure because I was strapped to someone who knew what he was doing. I did not understand every part of the experience, but I trusted the one in charge.

That is a picture of the Christian life and writing. We are not called to write for God while keeping him at a safe distance. We are called to stay close to Jesus, work in tandem with him, and trust his leadership when the process feels uncertain.

In Acts 4, Peter and John stood before religious leaders disturbed by their preaching. These leaders saw the disciples’ boldness and realized they were ordinary, uneducated men. Yet something about them could not be ignored. Scripture says the leaders recognized that Peter and John “had been with Jesus.”

That one sentence explains everything.

Being with Jesus had changed them. Their time with him gave them courage, conviction, and clarity. Writers need that same kind of transformation.

Writing changes when we have been with Jesus. Our words become less about proving ourselves and more about pointing to him. Our confidence comes from being yoked to the One who knows the way.

Writers, strap yourself to Jesus. People will see the difference. Only then will you be able to effectively “Publish his glorious deeds among the nations …” Psalm 96:3 (NLT).
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Christianity.com featured Tez Brooks in “50 Authors You Should Know.” As a multiple award-winning author/speaker, Brooks was named one of the Top Writing Coaches by the Coach Foundation. His work appears in Guideposts, Power for Living, CBN.com, YouVersion, Clubhouse, and more. He’s a member of the Evangelical Press Association, Colorado Authors League, and Word Weavers Intl. His latest book, Adult-o-Nomics, won first place with CIPA this year in the Personal Growth category. You can learn more at TezBrooks.com.