Welcome, Guest: Register On Nairaland / LOGIN! / Trending / Recent / New
Stats: 3,193,969 members, 7,952,903 topics. Date: Thursday, 19 September 2024 at 07:09 AM

Revival Through Retreat - Religion - Nairaland

Nairaland Forum / Nairaland / General / Religion / Revival Through Retreat (353 Views)

Easter: A Supposed Time Of Spiritual Revival / LAGBUS Carrying Deeper Life Members From Easter Retreat Catches Fire (photos) / Holineness And Righteousness Revival Messages And Bible Verses (2) (3) (4)

(1) (Reply)

Revival Through Retreat by kpakpandoN(m): 6:01am On Feb 03, 2016
All human beings have an intense desire to connect to God. One vital element that is required to connect to God is a nice quiet atmosphere, devoid of daily concerns, where one can ruminate over spiritual truths. Meanwhile, it is often difficult to create such within the unrelenting activities of one's daily life. This is why a retreat comes in handy. A spiritual retreat could be defined as a sustained period of quiet, uninterrupted time for a person to be reflective and receptive in God's presence. It offers a time to leave daily concerns, to connect with one's spiritual self, and to be attentive to the needs of one's soul and spirit. People seeking for a time of retreat often locate a retreat centre or a specific geographical place that offers an atmosphere conducive for quiet reflection. The search for spiritual retreat has taken many to Prayer Mountains and remote solitary places.
Mount Carmel is best known as the site of Elijah's battle against the prophets of Baal. However, the fact that Elijah and Elisha frequently returned to Mount Carmel is an indication that they were using the mountain for spiritual retreat. The overall purpose of a spiritual retreat is to be transformed in whatever manner God chooses. Withdrawing to a place of spiritual retreat offers a time for refreshment and nourishment of life, a time to experience a continual sense of God's presence that could become a constant reality in everyday life. Acts 3:19 says,
"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord"

Therefore, a time of spiritual retreat is a time for sober reflection, repentance, redidication, revival and rejuvenation. The book of 1 Kings 18:20-46 showed us the structure and pattern of a spiritual retreat. First, Elijah rebuilt the ruined altar to Yahweh, symbolising repentance and rededication of Israel to God. Then, he dug a trench around the altar and poured 12 jars of water on the sacrifice, the wood, and the altar, filling the trench, symbolising the activities of the Spirit. Finally he called on Yahweh, who answered immediately by fire that consumed the whole sacrifice, including the water, the wood, and the stones of the altar. This was immediately followed by heavy rains after three and half years of drought. There was great celebration as the people rejoiced in the Lord for a time of refreshing. A spiritual retreat always leads to celebration.
A Spiritual retreat is also used to pursue personal holiness and to stay connected to God. Several passages in the Gospels according to Saint Mark and Matthew, give the account of Jesus retreating to pray. This points out the importance of spiritual retreat to Christians. Every child of God, as a matter of necessity, must constantly create time for spiritual retreat, seeking the face of the Lord for cleansing, renewal, rededication, and spiritual empowerment. Written by Pastor E.A. Adeboye.

(1) (Reply)

Enemy Is A Must If You Must Grow / Happy Sunday / Can Christians Watch Horror Movies?

(Go Up)

Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health
religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket

Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10)

Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 13
Disclaimer: Every Nairaland member is solely responsible for anything that he/she posts or uploads on Nairaland.