““1 Praise awaits you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled. 2 You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.””
If you are like me, I am sure you will not be turning the TV channel to the latest news every morning because it’s always sometime bad without a solution. I have good news for you, turn to the heavenly TV channel, there you will hear good news because God is hearing the cry in your heart. He has an answer for everything that has a name. That is why the psalmist declares a praise that awaits him.
1. Thank God ahead of every request that will be presented before him this retreat season.
1 John 5:14-15 “14 And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we already possess what we have asked of Him.”
2. It’s a fact, it’s not a scam to present yourself and your request in accordance with his will. Thank God for the confidence we have in him.
Philippians 4:6–7: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
3. What is your petition? Write it down and present it with a thankful heart during this retreat season. Present it with confidence to this prayer answering God.
Psalm 34:4-8 “4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. 5 Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. 6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. 7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. 8 Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.”
4. What are you fearful of? Remember fear is a tool in the hands of satan, don’t give him a chance. Ask God for the grace to seek his love, refuge, his glory alone this season. It is in seeking that we find him and he hears and answers us.
Mathew 7:7-8 “7 Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”
5. The beauty of our God is the fact that he has provided us with directions on how to do things. During this retreat season, let us trust God for the grace to ask, seek, and knock at the heavenly doors. He is waiting to receive us in his outstretched hands.
1 Peter 3:12 “For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
6. Pray that God’s eyes will not miss us nor his ears to see and to hear us this season.
Romans 8:26-27 “26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know how we ought to pray, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans too deep for words. 27 And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
7. Pray for the help of the HolySpirit. Without him, we cannot pray right.
Job 5:12-13 “12 He thwarts the plans of the crafty, so that their hands achieve no success. 13
He catches the wise in their craftiness, and the schemes of the wily are swept away.”
8. Pray that God himself will frustrate every plan of the wicked, the witch, powers of the dark world etc. their hands will not be successful in their plans, their wisdom must be turned to foolishness, their legs, mouth, etc must become slippery and broken. They must drink the cup of their wickedness. They must not raise up to run after us. Their eyes must be blinded.