Sarah Sundin
Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Today I have the honor of interviewing Elaine Helms, who has turned her passion for prayer and her amazing experience in national prayer organizations into books to benefit all of us. Welcome, Elaine!
Tell us about your book, Prayer without Limits: Expanding Your Relationship with God.
Elaine Helms
It is a nonfiction book about the greatness of God’s ability, yet we may be quenching the power of the Holy Spirit in the obstacles we bring to prayer. Once the obstacles are addressed and removed, we can work with God through prayer the way He intended. It won the AWSA Golden Scroll Non-Fiction Merit Award.
Congratulations! What inspired you to write this book?
As I was reading the familiar verses, Ephesians 3:20-21, the phrase, “according to the power that works within us” jumped out at me. I began to teach on this aspect of the verse at prayer conferences, showing general sins common to most of us that might be blindsiding us. What might God do if we were free from obstacles and the Holy Spirit’s power was released through our prayers?
Prayer Without Limits by Elaine Helms
What was your greatest challenge in writing this book?
The Holy Spirit continually brought me under conviction about my own obstacles and I felt unworthy to tell anyone else about theirs. God finally gave me peace about sharing with fellow travelers on this spiritual journey, lessons He is teaching me.
How has being a writer impacted your relationship with Christ?
I cannot write about something that I have not experienced and/or learned firsthand, because I write nonfiction. Speaking and writing about what God is teaching me reinforces what I am learning, and often deepens my walk as I try to live out what I espouse.
Why do you write about prayer?
God called me into prayer ministry, first at my local church and then as prayer coordinator for the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). My first books were birthed out of need. Other churches were calling to help them start prayer ministries and I kept saying the same things; so I wrote If My People . . . Pray, Steps to an Effective Church Prayer Ministry. When church prayer coordinators wanted training for their intercessors, I wrote Prayer 101, What Every Intercessor Needs to Know. I guess it is natural to write about what you do and are passionate about.
What ministries are you involved in now?
I was honored to serve the SBC at the national level and when I retired, to be invited to be the prayer coordinator for My Hope America with Billy Graham, when the BGEA first brought that emphasis to America. I still love speaking and teaching on prayer as invited; I just returned from leading a two-day prayer retreat for pastors and their wives in Alba Julio, Romania.
How exciting! Elaine, please tell us your favorite library memory.
When our children were in school, I took them to the library often, and one rainy day we spent a longer time than usual. We each found a book and settled in to the cozy chairs available near a big window. Our youngest was reading shorter books so he continually found another one. We have reminisced often about those fun days at our local library, being transported to such interesting places. Now our oldest daughter loves taking her sons to their local library, too.
What a wonderful family legacy! Thank you for sharing with us today, Elaine.
To learn more about Elaine and her books, please visit Elaine’s page on the CAN website.
Writing for Him,
Sarah Sundin
