22
Mar
DAY 17 – THE SECRET OF RETREAT
Many of us are familiar with the term ‘Retreats’; Workers Retreat, Stewards Retreat, Household Retreat and many more retreats that we have attended, yet we don’t know or we are yet to realize the full extent of the impact these retreats have on us.
Nothing can take away the importance of our personal time with God, but we also need to conduct and hold personal prayer retreats that will supplement our daily disciplines in our Christian journey.
Prayer retreats serve us a whole lot as Christians;
- They intensify and accelerate our pursuit for God
- They refresh and renew our weary spirit
- God honors them by revealing hidden things
Effective retreats tend to include these four principles: - Solitude: Even though it’s good to pray in groups and clusters, it is of the utmost importance that we take time to do these things ALONE, yes, this walk is for you and you have to take time to be alone before your maker.
- No entertainment: This means no Tv, Movies, Comedy Skits, Video games, magazines or anything that will distract you.
- Fasting: Fasting has the dual effect of freeing you from the thought of Food Preparation and consumption and also intensifies your spiritual pursuit by means of grace released through self denial.
- The Gospels: Let your retreat be filled with meditations of the scriptures but emphasize more on the gospels. Let Jesus be the centre of your heart at these times.
