I’ve been desperately wanting to “get away”; to “be alone”. Which line up with my word for the year, “retreat”.
Psalm 42:1-2 says, “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” (emphasis mine!)
This passage speaks of a deep desire to get away with the Lord; even one that we may not be consciously aware of.
We feel a restlessness; an urge or sense that we need to be doing something or that w are “missing out”. This unexplained discontentment often drives us to fill our calendars in hopes to fill our soul. We fall for the trap that doing more will prove our worth; that somehow activity equates worth.
We overload our time and underwhelm our souls, which invites a deficits of rest, strength, wisdom, joy and peace.
So how do we get back to the shelter of the Almighty? How do we abide in the secret place of the Most High?
Plain and simple, we must seek Him. And we do so through prayer – regular, consistent, persistent appointments and conversations with our Best Friend, Good Shepherd, Heavenly Father, Almighty God.
Consistent prayer appointments will bring us before the Lord where He can feed us what our soul desires.
We must get bossy, even dare to violently guard and pursue time with the Lord. By “violently'” I mean to get radical, diligent and persistent about ordering our time and days in ways that will make room for the Lord.
The ones who are the hungriest and thirstiest will always be satisfied. “He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things” (Psalm 107:9). He “satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like eagle’s” (Psalm 103:5).
7 Reasons to have Consistent Prayer Retreats
1. Consistent and personal prayer retreats intensify your pursuit of the Lord.
The more we seek the more we will be allowed to find. The more we pray the more we taste. Here are a few snippets of Psalm 63:1-8…
“O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek You; my soul thirsts for You,… Your love is better than life… my soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods… Because You are my help, I will sing in the shadow of Your wings… Your right hand upholds me.”
2. Personal prayer retreats help us hear from the Lord better; receive more revelation.
Jesus speaks of a people who sought intellect over intimacy.
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.” (Matthew 13:14-15)
Getting alone with God through prayer will help us hear Him better. He promises that He will “instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you,” He says. “Do not be like the horse or a mule…” (Psalm 32:8-9).
Don’t resist spending time with the Lord. Don’t be stubborn or easily dissuaded. Get bossy about spending time with Him, order your time and days.
3. Consistent prayer retreats could give you divine revelation for a specific situation you’re facing.
Receiving specific guidance often comes with a diligent pursuit of the Lord. Sometimes we get answers immediately, other times within days or weeks. Still other times it takes years. When the seeking gets long, trust that He is moving the largest mountains. Keep asking Him this,
“Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me, for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” (Psalm 25:4-5)
4. Consistent prayer retreats will bring clarity into God’s ways.
“He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them His way” (Psalm 25:9).
“keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know Him better“ (Ephesians 1:17). (emphasis mine)
5. Consistent prayer retreats bring renewal and refreshment.
As we spend time with the Lord, He will begin to illuminate things we may need to get rid of. As He gently shows us the undesirables in our own heart, we have the opportunity to come clean before Him.
“Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” (Acts 3:19). (emphasis mine)
We love the easily digestible and agreeable things of the Word; not so much the soap and salt of the Truth. Yet, things that are meant to cleanse and purify are also the things that will preserve us in His will. “You gave abundant showers, O God; You refreshed your weary inheritance” (Psalm 68:9)
6. Consistent prayer retreats reveal new promises and insights.
Psalm 25:14 says, “The Lord confides in those who fear Him; He makes His covenant known to them.”
Isaiah 42:9 also says, “See the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.“
The Lord will speak to those who are listening. He says, “Call to Me and I will tell you great and unsearchable things that you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3).
The problem is not that the Lord is silent. The question is “how well are we listening?”
7. Consistent prayer retreats help us grow to knew levels with God, or get us out of the rut we’re in.
James 4:8 tells us to “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.”
Deuteronomy 4:29 says “if from there (wherever you are) you seek the Lord your God, you will find Him if you look for Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (insert mine)
Jeremiah 29:14 says this when we seek the Lord, “I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and bring you back form captivity.” That ‘captivity’ can be anything that is hindering your growth in Him.
Dear friend… seek your Heavenly Father!
Deliberately plan and violently guard your time with Him.
He wants to teach you knew things, tell you more about Himself, and mostly… He wants to be near you.
To help you pray powerful Scripture-based Prayers, you might appreciate Kaylene’s books:
1. 40 Scripture-based Prayers to Pray Over Your Husband
2. 40 Scripture-based Prayers to Pray Over Your Wife
3. 40 Scripture-based Prayer to Pray Over Your Children