Pressing in At our womens and mens retreats

Pressing in

At our women’s and men’s retreats we have studied about contemplative prayer & hearing God in His Word l l Psa 119: 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. (Psa 143: 10) Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground. l (Luk 12: 12) for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say. " l (Joh 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 said to you.

Pressing In – Step One l First thing every morning we need to enter the throne room and Address our King! l Psa 5: 1 For the choir director; for flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, Consider my groaning. Psa 5: 2 Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God, For to You I pray. Psa 5: 3 In the morning, O LORD, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch. l l

l Jas 4: 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. l Hands – actions Hearts – inner thoughts & emotions l

God will lead you and speak to you! l l Psa 5: 7 But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You. Psa 5: 8 O LORD, lead me in Your righteousness because of my foes; Make Your way straight before me. Psa 5: 11 But let all who take refuge in You be glad, Let them ever sing for joy; And may You shelter them, That those who love Your name may exult in You. Psa 5: 12 For it is You who blesses the righteous man, O LORD, You surround him with favor as with a shield.

We have access! l l l Heb 4: 14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Heb 4: 15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Heb 4: 16 Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

l l Heb 10: 19 Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, Heb 10: 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh, Heb 10: 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, Heb 10: 22 let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

l l Eph 2: 18 for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father. Eph 2: 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household,

Enter in with confidence and praise! l l Psa 100: 2 Serve the LORD with gladness; Come before Him with joyful singing. Psa 100: 3 Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Psa 100: 4 Enter His gates with thanksgiving And His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name. Psa 100: 5 For the LORD is good; His lovingkindness is everlasting And His faithfulness to all generations.

In His presence - Step 2 l How do you respond when you enter into the very presence of God?

Let Him purify your heart and mind! l l l Psa 51: 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psa 51: 11 Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Psa 51: 12 Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.

Isaiah 6: 1 -8 l Two types of prayer: l 1. Entering the very presence of God l 2. Continual prayer through out your day

In His Presence l l l Worship Him! Praise Him! Ask Him to cleanse you Lay down your burdens, cares, and requests Ask Him to speak to you – to direct your path for that day! He may give you a Scripture to read or actually speak to you!

It may be convicting… l l Psa 139: 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; Psa 139: 24 And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Thank Jesus for giving you access to the Throne! l Then ask the Lord to direct you to a passage to read. l Be silent before the Lord and let Him speak! l You may want to simply write down every passage that comes to mind. Or any word or instruction He gives you. l Then, open up His love letter to you and see what He has for you that day…

Step 3 – Read the Word l Before I part the pages of the Book…

Read the text and ask for God to show you what it means! 2 Pe 1: 20 But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, l 2 Pe 1: 21 for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. l

Col. 1: 9 -12 l God will give you wisdom and direction l He will show you His will l He will strengthen you to please Him in all aspects of your life! l You will get to know God

l l l Psa 119: 103 How sweet are Your words to my taste! Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psa 119: 104 From Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Psa 119: 105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.

Step 4 – Meditate on His Message l Jos 1: 8 "This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success. l Psa 119: 27 Make me understand the way of Your precepts, So I will meditate on Your wonders. Psa 119: 28 My soul weeps because of grief; Strengthen me according to Your word. l

Go and Share it! l l l Eph 3: 8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, Eph 3: 9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; Eph 3: 10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. Eph 3: 11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, Eph 3: 12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.