Thoughts for Life: #116 The Purpose of a Prayer Retreat

Dr. Wesley L. Duewel- The purpose of your personal prayer retreat may be to draw near to God. "Come near to God and he will come near to you " (James 4:8) . "But as for me, it is good to be near God" (Ps. 73:28). Oh, what a privilege to spend time close to the heart of Jesus!

You may desire time alone with God because you need to discover His will in some matter of great importance. Don't be embarrassed. He wants you to understand His will. He has a "good, pleasing, and perfect will" for you (Rom 12:2) He wants "to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding" (Co. 1:9). (Google image, walking with Jesus)

He may reveal some new direction to you during your prayer retreat. He has done this for me. Or He may begin a process which will lead to you full understanding at a later time. he loves you so much He wants you to know and so His will.

You may desire this extended time alone with God out of concern for an important or urgent need. The need may be for some aspect of God's cause, for your nation or community, for some fiend or loved one, or for yourself. Do not hesitate to pray for personal needs.

How to Plan for a Prayer Retreat

1. Plan for a place for prayer where you will be undisturbed. On several occasions in India, when privacy was at a premium, I took a train to the next stop and spent the day in the railway waiting room, reading and praying. though the conditions were not idea, for there were people all around m, I was relatively undisturbed.

A number of our One Mission Society-related churches in Korea have in their church building several prayer rooms just large enough for one person. Any member can come at anytime, leave his or her shoes outside the little door to show the room is occupied, and spend hours or even a day or two praying there. Other churches have a special prayer house in the mountains, available to any member of the church.

When my wife and I were serving as missionaries in India, we went to Landour, Mussoorie, in the Himalayas for several weeks in the summer to escape the oppressive heat. I found some ideal spots on the mountainsides for my prayer retreats—one, only nine miles beyond Landour.

Several times during each hot season, I would slip out at day break, walk the nine miles to the spot, and spend the day alone with the Lord. Oh, what blessed times!

In the city of Allahabad, I had an arrangement with friends to use an empty storage room in a kind of outbuilding as a place of retreat. There was no phone there or people who could interrupt my time alone with God. At other times I have used an empty room of a church building. If you sincerely desire to seek Him in prolonged fellowship, He will lead you to the place.

2. Schedule a time when you can be free from pressures and interruptions. For some people Sunday afternoon is a good time for a shorter prayer retreat. Consider spending part of your vacation, or choose some office holiday for a longer retreat. Perhaps a half-night of prayer could be planned, beginning at supper-time. You might want to skip your evening meal and strengthen your prayer time with a brief fast.

3. Collect all the supplies you will need. A list of items to take along on your prayer retreat might include (a) Bible, (b) hymnbook, (c) notebook and pen, (d) concordance (if your Bible does not include one), (e) one or two other translations of the Bible or of the New Testament alone, (f) devotional book or a book on revival, prayer, or the Holy Spirit, (g) flashlight (if necessary), (h) cushion or something to kneel on, (i) watch or alarm chock (especially if you are planning several days of prayer), (j) adequate wraps, and (k) your prayer diary.

4. Inform someone where you may be reached in case of emergency. Though you will not publicize this sacred time alone with God, you will want to notify some member of your church or family where you will be spending these hours or day. After the retreat you may need to refer to it, especially if someone tried to contact you in your absence, but this should be done matter-of-factly. There is a place for testimony, but be careful to give all the glory to God and not attract attention to yourself.

5, Begin the retreat as rested as possible. If you plan a prayer retreat of several days' duration, you will need to be properly refreshed for your time with the Lord. It is perfectly spiritual to sleep when your body demands it. at some point during your retreat, you may want to take a brief nap before resuming your prayer and meditation. Here, your alarm clock will come in handy.

(Chapter 31, p. 233-235, italics added for emphasis)

Used by permission

of the Duewel Literature Trust, Inc,

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Let's pray-

Father, help us understand that we need to pull away from our normal day's activities to spend time with Your Word, getting closer to Your Heart. May we see the importance of such a time for seeking answers for questions and some decisions we need to make.

In such a time apart, may we hear Your direction for important or urgent needs for ourselves or for someone else. May we find a place to pray undisturbed and free from pressures and interruptions.

If needed, help us collect the supplies we'll need, inform someone of where we'll be in case of emergency, and try to be rested for such a time alone, away from the normal day's activities. When we feel the need to rest during our retreat, may we follow our body's need in this, too.

Let this time with Jesus become a precious time that invigorates us spiritually as well as physically, so that we can return to our normal days ready to do what He'll reveal to us during our time alone with Him.

We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen

Today's Bible verses-

Ephesians 2:4-6 (NASB) “ . . . God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

Eph. 3:20-21 (NIV) "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen"

1 Corinthians 1:27 (NIV) "God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong."

Quote for today-

~ Eileen Crossman- "The enemy's tactics seem to be as follows. He will first of all oppose our breaking through to the place of real, living faith, by all means in his power. He detests the prayer of faith, for it is an authoritative 'notice to quit.' He does not so much mind rambling, carnal prayers, for they do not hurt him much . . . However, once we attain to a real faith, all the forces of hell are impotent to annul it."

Words of wisdom-

~ Do we resist the Lord's call to do something new and untried, thinking we'd rather not? Venturing into an untried action may be good, but being obstinate, refusing submission to the Lord's will, can cause us to miss His wise directions. May we be quick to surrender to the warmth of His welcoming arms of wisdom.

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