prayer retreat

We had a prayer retreat on Saturday. Winnie asked me who would be there. I told her God would. Then she said good-bye, have a good retreat. And I told her I've never had a bad prayer retreat.

I guess that's the difference between our usual notions of a retreat and a prayer retreat. In my church experience a "retreat" always meant a group gathering that required a lot of preparation and organization. There were a lot of moving parts, so there was a real concern about making sure all the parts worked together. And that invited comparison and critique. Some retreats were "better" than others.

But a prayer retreat is about me meeting with God in the company of others. God always shows up, probably because I'm going with the expectation of meeting him there, and he always gets there first. At other retreats the details can keep me from knowing why I'm there in the first place. I go hoping that the speaker will be powerful, the worship will be engaging, etc. If it all works together, then I may notice what God is saying to me. If any of those parts aren't working well, then I'm often disappointed, mostly because I'm distracted. God is actually there, I just wasn't able to pay attention.

"Conference junkies" are people who specialize in critiquing large group meetings. It's their spiritual gift. If they disapprove of something, it could ruin their whole weekend or week, whether or not God was there. Actually he was, they just missed it. He may even have been trying to speak to them through the botched detail that so consumed them.

"Be still and know that I am God."