Women's Prayer Retreat

Our women's ministry hosted the second prayer retreat of the year.  The first one (for the women at our hotel campus) was in March.  The second (for the women at our Miralvalle campus) was last Saturday.  

About 35 women traveled about an hour and a half outside of the city to spend time "listening" to God's voice.  We left the church at 6:00 a.m. and stopped for breakfast at a restaurant named Kaltepet on the way there.  

Once there we had a short time of praise and worship and a testimony, followed by the "prayer retreat" rules:  

• Stay silent--not the time to talk or pray with anyone else--just you and the Father
• Concentrate on listening for His voice
• Morning prayer time is from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

We enjoyed a great lunch with time to share our experiences, before repeating the same schedule in the afternoon.  We ended the day with group prayer and a short testimony time.  We were loaded up and ready to leave at 4:30 p.m. and arrived at the church at 6:00 p.m.

 

Women's Ministry Leadership Team

Women's Ministry Trip, Part 5 (life-changing)

Although our morning session wasn't scheduled until 8:00 a.m. I was up early (before my roommates) and stepped out the door of the room before 7:00 a.m.  Here was my reward from a faithful God:

Wow! To think I would have missed it if I'd slept in just another fifteen minutes.  

I joined the group for the morning session and we started with three songs of praise, "Sovereign, Bless the Lord (10,000 Reasons) and Great is Thy Faithfulness.  Wendy Lyons gave a short testimony and then we were released to three hours of individual prayer.  After the previous night I wasn't worried about the time, but rather anxious to talk and listen to what more God had to say to me.  I decided to spend time exploring the camp; my first stop was at the zipline structure, where I was able to sit quietly.  I opened my Bible to Isaiah 61:1 and began to read the chapter.  Among the verses God spoke to me these words:  

• Fear--I can release my fears because "the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings"
• Trust--I can rest in my creator and Father because I "am the clay and he is the potter."
• Guide--I don't have to find my own way because "the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light"
• Future--I don't have to worry about what will come because "men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him."
• Redeemed--I can believe his promises because I shall be called "thy holy people, the redeemed of the Lord.

Later I found the waterfall prayer garden that was on the map and although there were others praying at that spot, I was able to sit, reflect and listen.

I finished my time thanking God for the opportunity to be in the beautiful place, for reminding me who I was and, more importantly, who I needed to be, for convicting me and calling me into a deeper relationship.  

The retreat ended with a fifteen-minute group testimony time--women simply speaking out a words of praise and thanks to our great God.  I can truly say that the retreat was life-changing for me!  It lived up to it's purpose--a place to experience God.