SEATTLE, WA - Kneeling before the Father in heartfelt emotion Tuesday morning, Pastor Frank Stevens humbly asked God to speak in a powerful way by the strength of His Spirit through Stevens' ghostwriter, who handles writing duties for all his sermons, midweek studies, and bestselling books, according to sources.

"Oh God, I beg you: speak through Craig," Stevens fervently prayed of his handpicked ghostwriter during his usual time of prayer for blessing over the other man's weekly studies. "Give him all the perfect proverbial phrases, clever illustrations, and witty anecdotes to really make me look good up there Sunday."

"Thanks for giving me someone like Craig, who can do all the peripheral work while I take care of big picture stuff for the sake of the Kingdom," the pastor added, opening one eye to check his watch, to make sure he wasn't running late for his video shoot about leadership. "May he decrease, and may I increase."

"It's very important that we make time for God, and cover our ghostwriters' time of study with frequent prayer," Stevens told reporters later on as he arrived at a Family Christian bookstore for a brief book signing appearance before heading to the airport to depart for a lucrative speaking engagement at a high-profile conference. "Nothing can take precedence over that. Without communing with the Father on behalf of the behind-the-scenes guys doing the less glamorous pastor-y stuff, we'd lose focus of what we're really supposed to be doing."

At publishing time, Stevens had hired a second and third ghostwriter to pen his new devotional series "Becoming An Authentic Man."