"trust, love, pray" was martin's first released studio album since 1988's "this is serious". describing the songs as "written purely from my heart", martin originally put her solo career on halt in the 1990s. she recalled to "breathe cast": "for several years i just didn't have the heart to try to write or sing". however, when her husband introduced her to the music software garageband, she began writing new material. happy to be writing and singing again, martin did not initially consider releasing a new album.