GUIDEPOSTS INCREDIBLE PRAYER SERIES

We are working on the next volumes of the Guideposts series Extraordinary Answers to Prayer (formerly Incredible Power of Prayer) series and I welcome you to join us. Guideposts has launched a series of 12 compilation books on various aspects of prayer and how people from every walk of life have been transformed through God’s response to their prayers. These books will be available by mail only, sent monthly as part of a book series promotion.

You may have contributed to the first four titles in this series (Praying from the Heart, The Healing Touch, Expecting Miracles, and From Tragedy to Triumph) or perhaps to my Cup of Comfort, Life Savors, or Love Is a Verb brands. Or perhaps I’m contacting you for the first time. Whatever the case, I eagerly seek your participation in this next phase of prayer volumes.

Right now we need stories for book five, Refreshed by the Spirit. This topic focuses on prayers we send to God when we are spiritually dry; and we just don’t feel His presence; or during a dark night of the soul when life is difficult. The fault may be your own because you’re not walking with the Lord, or He may seem distant because of struggles in your life.

This has led to telltale signs of spiritual dryness: fear, doubt, depression, bitterness, and so on. The circumstances behind these feelings are widespread: finances, marriage or parenting issues, illness, spiritual attack, loneliness, job issues, or maybe your own lack of moving on to maturity by neglecting church, prayer, or scripture reading. As you continually pray for His presence and change your behaviors and attitudes, suddenly things change and you are refreshed and filled with his reassurance, peace, and joy.

How did God visit you in a new way that caused praise and thanksgiving and may have even changed your life? Perhaps a very concrete answer to prayer in times of need led to this refreshment, or maybe it was a Scripture verse, advice from a friend, or spiritual sign from God, or maybe just an overwhelming sense of his love that picks you up and encourages to grow deeper with Him.

Book six, Love and Forgiveness, deals with relationships that have been strained or broken due to offenses against us, or our own faults. When we pray for love for those who mistreat us and pray for the willingness to seek restitution and restoration we regain our families and friends and change the hearts of our enemies. How was prayer the determining factor in a renewed love, forgiveness, and eventual restoration of relationships?

We’re pleased to consider as many stories for these three volumes as you wish to submit. We’ll look at stories of up to 2,000 words and prefer that they be at least 1,000 words. The stories should have a creative title, an attention-grabbing introduction, main body with a conflict or challenge, and a clear, satisfying resolution. They need to be descriptive, rooted in time and place, compelling personal experience stories with a realistic portrayal of the people involved. They need to be stories rather than testimonies, Christian living articles, and shouldn’t focus on mere feelings or mental states.

Most important, they need to revolve around prayer itself and not the circumstances of the story. These are themed books but the purpose is to convince the reader of the power of prayer in these situations.

We prefer original stories but you may also submit previously published stories that you have full rights for and are not currently in print with a major publisher. We pay $25 for stories under 1200 words, and $50 for stories over 1200 words. You may retain the right to publish the stories in magazines and in books with less than national distribution and not carried in nationwide bookstores.

We are accepting manuscripts for Refreshed by the Spirit until February 10 and Love and Forgiveness until March 1, but the sooner you submit the better your chance of acceptance. We will send you a permission form by April if your story is a finalist for any of these volumes.

Please send your manuscript attached to the e-mail rather than pasting text in the email
Window. Feel free to send your manuscript in normal manuscript formatting, with your full contact information on the manuscript—name, address, phone number, email address—and whether you’re offering First Rights or Reprint Rights at the top of each manuscript. Please include a biography of 30 words or less at the end of each manuscript.

Please direct all inquiries and manuscript submissions to my colleague, Jeanette Littleton, at incredibleprayers@earthlink.net. If this email has been forwarded to you and you can’t submit to this call, but would like to hear about other editorial needs as they arise, please send us your email address and we’ll add you to our notification list. Also please pass this along to any writing or praying friends who might be interested.

Blessing to you and yours,

Jim
James Stuart Bell
Compiler, Guideposts Incredible Prayer series