2023 Retreat Preparatory Prayers - Day 3: Leading By the Holy Spirit

““ God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” ”

— John 4:24

1. God is not flesh and blood like us. He is a Spirit and we can only relate with Him by His Spirit. We have been given the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of truth. His role is to help us reveal the truth about God and assist us in every aspect of our daily spiritual walk with God. John 14:26 “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Pray that during this season we will be humble enough to allow the Holy Spirit to teach us. Pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us everything we have to know as well as do during this season.

2. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” As God’s temple we have a tendency to dwell in the flesh. Pray that we will remember who we are, what we are called to do, and having the understanding that we are no longer our own so that we can allow God to move through us.

3. 2 Corinthians 3:17-18 “17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Pray that we will be liberated from anything that will want to hinder our ability to wait our God as well as hear him in this season. Pray that we will all be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that we may flow in the power of the glory of God.

4. Ezekiel 36:27 “And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ask God to put his Spirit in us so that we will be transformed to follow him, keep in commands and be obedient to what is wants us to do during this season.

5. Isaiah 11:2 “And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD” Pray that the Spirit of God that rested upon Jesus, will come upon the speakers for this retreat as well as the mission trip, so that they are able to flow in wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and walk in the fear of God.

6. Acts 4:31 “After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Pray for the filling of the power of the Holy Spirit so that we are effective and bold to do the work of God.

7. Isaiah 63:10 “But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.” Pray that God will help us so we will be sensitive and not grieve the Holy Spirit.

2023 Retreat Preparatory Prayers - Day 2: Forgiveness/Mercy

“ “13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.””

— Colossians 2:13-15

Our sins were forgiven when we gave over our lives to Jesus. Colossians 2:13-15 “13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.” However, because we still live in the flesh, we are still prone to sin and that is why God has made a provision in Christ. This is however not a free ticket to continue in sin.

Mark 11: 25 “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins." Un-forgiveness is a big problem in the church today and number one hindrance to answers to prayers. God respect and honors his word. He is also faithful in everything he does. He is always available to us even when we have done wrong or gone astray.

1 John 1:7-10 “7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.” Our fellowship with one another is dependent upon our ability to forgive one another when they hurt us. God cannot be mocked. We must confess, forgive, as well as ask for forgiveness in order to have a true fellowship with the father and one another.

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” We cannot be effective in prayer when we hold each other in our heart. As an intercessor its terrible to pray from a heart that cannot forgive. God cannot trust you. We must let every sin out of our heart.

Hebrew 12:1-2 “1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” There are certain sins that are so close to us that we turn not to notice them. We may have been committing the same sin and it has become a habit. Let us examine ourselves and ask God to help us:

Psalm 50:1-2 “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: According unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.” The best thing a man can do is to cry unto God for Mercy. It takes humility to ask for mercy. Plead for mercy as indicated by this psalm.

Proverbs 28:13 – “No one who conceals transgressions will prosper, but one who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.” Isaiah 30:18 – “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” God is mercy and kind. As we ask for forgiveness, he also is able to have mercy upon us. If we hide our sin, his mercy cannot reach us. Repentance and asking for forgiveness brings humility as well as takes us to the place of God’s mercy.