PRINCIPLES FOR HAVING A GOOD RETREAT
PRINCIPLES FOR HAVING A GOOD RETREAT
1 . Plan a retreat to cover at least 12 hours.
2 . Begin at 6:00 a.m. Remember in scripture most great events and ventures began early in the morning.
3 . Read the word of God for three hours (Neh. 9:3).
4 . Do praise and worship and prayer for at least three hours (Neh. 9:3).
5 . Shut yourself up in the presence of God. No visitors. (Neh. 9:2).
6 . Accompany your retreat with fasting (Neh. 9:1).
7 . Confession of sin should be an important part of any retreat. This leads to salvation,
healing, deliverance, restoration, renewal and God’s providence and favour in your life
(Neh. 9:2).
8 . There must be true repentance (Neh. 9:1-17; Neh. 9:4).
MORE TITBITS ON RETREATS
Any time you want to retreat know that the Lord wants to have an encounter with you. He puts
a special burden on you to disassociate yourself from people so you can associate with Him in a
profitable way. It is also a special moment in which you hunger and feel uncomfortable with all
other things.
God is spirit and can always and only reach us when we are in tune with Him. And because
we are in the flesh, we always find it difficult to see what He wants us to see, hear and do. For
this reason, He puts a special burden on us. Anytime you feel like retreating, know that it is a
high invitation to meet God and to take instructions and directions from Him. Whatever the
situation, you did not take that decision. God did. Luke 4:1, 2 says, Jesus, full of the Holy
Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days
He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days and at the end of them He was
hungry. Jesus retreated.
During retreats, we have God’s visitation, deeper revelations into hidden things. The Lord also
deals with us. So in coming before the Lord to retreat, we must plan properly to wait before Him.
Prepare your heart and your mind and expect to meet Him.
Coming to retreat is not when we make and receive calls from friends. It is also not a time when
we visit people or people visit us. it is also not a time for brooding over unnecessary things.
In Preparing to Come before the Lord
The Bible says no one comes before Him and goes back the same. This suggests you must have a
note book, pen, and a recorder because sometimes the Holy Spirit will give you a song (heavenly
song which you might forget and therefore you must sing along with Him as you record).
Draw a plan for each day. That is, plan each day properly.
For example:
Morning - quiet time and bible reading
Afternoon - prayer and rest
Evening - worship
Midnight- warefare
We most of the time always do the talking without waiting to listen to God. But the best we have to do is to wait on Him to minister to us. How?
•Listening to Him in meditation
•Reading the Word
•Rest (sleep)
Retreat time is a conversation time with God. The Bible records that in the cool of the day God visited Adam and his wife Eve and they had fellowship (Gen. 3:8-10). Worship in the morning,evening and if possible, at midnight. Remember Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25, 26).
It is also good and very important to put down prayer points. It is possible that more prayer
points may come up and the duration of the retreat might not be enough. This also helps us
identify the answer to every request we make so we can give thanks and praises to the Lord.
It is also necessary to factor in rest because God speaks to us in visions and dreams too.
Prayer plan.
A – Adoration
C- Confession
T – Thanksgiving
S – Supplication, comprising intercession (praying for others) and petition (your needs)
Spiritual needs
•Ministry
•Calling
•Personal prophecies
•Vision
•Dreams
•Spiritual warfare (midnight prayers). Pray against attacks, difficulties, setbacks, demonic influences, etc
•Stand in the gap for others and your nation
Physical and material needs.
Good health, boundless energy, food and clothing, etc.
© John Gordon Egyir-Croffet & Emma Osei-Amoah 2010
1 . Plan a retreat to cover at least 12 hours.
2 . Begin at 6:00 a.m. Remember in scripture most great events and ventures began early in the morning.
3 . Read the word of God for three hours (Neh. 9:3).
4 . Do praise and worship and prayer for at least three hours (Neh. 9:3).
5 . Shut yourself up in the presence of God. No visitors. (Neh. 9:2).
6 . Accompany your retreat with fasting (Neh. 9:1).
7 . Confession of sin should be an important part of any retreat. This leads to salvation,
healing, deliverance, restoration, renewal and God’s providence and favour in your life
(Neh. 9:2).
8 . There must be true repentance (Neh. 9:1-17; Neh. 9:4).
MORE TITBITS ON RETREATS
Any time you want to retreat know that the Lord wants to have an encounter with you. He puts
a special burden on you to disassociate yourself from people so you can associate with Him in a
profitable way. It is also a special moment in which you hunger and feel uncomfortable with all
other things.
God is spirit and can always and only reach us when we are in tune with Him. And because
we are in the flesh, we always find it difficult to see what He wants us to see, hear and do. For
this reason, He puts a special burden on us. Anytime you feel like retreating, know that it is a
high invitation to meet God and to take instructions and directions from Him. Whatever the
situation, you did not take that decision. God did. Luke 4:1, 2 says, Jesus, full of the Holy
Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days
He was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days and at the end of them He was
hungry. Jesus retreated.
During retreats, we have God’s visitation, deeper revelations into hidden things. The Lord also
deals with us. So in coming before the Lord to retreat, we must plan properly to wait before Him.
Prepare your heart and your mind and expect to meet Him.
Coming to retreat is not when we make and receive calls from friends. It is also not a time when
we visit people or people visit us. it is also not a time for brooding over unnecessary things.
In Preparing to Come before the Lord
The Bible says no one comes before Him and goes back the same. This suggests you must have a
note book, pen, and a recorder because sometimes the Holy Spirit will give you a song (heavenly
song which you might forget and therefore you must sing along with Him as you record).
Draw a plan for each day. That is, plan each day properly.
For example:
Morning - quiet time and bible reading
Afternoon - prayer and rest
Evening - worship
Midnight- warefare
We most of the time always do the talking without waiting to listen to God. But the best we have to do is to wait on Him to minister to us. How?
•Listening to Him in meditation
•Reading the Word
•Rest (sleep)
Retreat time is a conversation time with God. The Bible records that in the cool of the day God visited Adam and his wife Eve and they had fellowship (Gen. 3:8-10). Worship in the morning,evening and if possible, at midnight. Remember Paul and Silas (Acts 16:25, 26).
It is also good and very important to put down prayer points. It is possible that more prayer
points may come up and the duration of the retreat might not be enough. This also helps us
identify the answer to every request we make so we can give thanks and praises to the Lord.
It is also necessary to factor in rest because God speaks to us in visions and dreams too.
Prayer plan.
A – Adoration
C- Confession
T – Thanksgiving
S – Supplication, comprising intercession (praying for others) and petition (your needs)
Spiritual needs
•Ministry
•Calling
•Personal prophecies
•Vision
•Dreams
•Spiritual warfare (midnight prayers). Pray against attacks, difficulties, setbacks, demonic influences, etc
•Stand in the gap for others and your nation
Physical and material needs.
Good health, boundless energy, food and clothing, etc.
© John Gordon Egyir-Croffet & Emma Osei-Amoah 2010
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