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It's easy to drift from your vision unless you take the time to develop an action plan that propels you towards your desired destination!
“Vision drift” happens in your marriage, your vocation, or your spiritual life when you lose sight of your purpose and mission in those areas.

Drawing from Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy’s book entitled “Living Forward, (Click here to preview the book), the Lord impressed on me that the best way to stay focused spiritually is to develop an action plan.

Many people are frustrated that they don’t seem to hear from God, and yet they never take specific steps to change that. Since we have a biblical promise that believers can hear him (John 10:27), it’s up to us to listen. If you are among those who aren’t as disciplined about maintaining quiet times, or if you simply want to improve your existing relationship with God, this strategy is for you.

As we begin a new year and a new era, I want to challenge you to pull out your calendar, block off at least an hour or two of time in the near future (a half-day would be even better), and do a “mini” prayer retreat. The goal of your retreat is to create an action plan that will help you see exactly how you can improve your relationship with God.

Here’s what your personal mini-retreat might look like:


Why Do a "Mini" Prayer Retreat?


Because they are so powerful, I hold prayer retreats on a regular basis each year. Schedules and priorities change, and it is helpful to get away and “take inventory” to see where my spiritual resources are weak or depleted, and what areas need growth or change. Even disciplined believers with regular quiet times need a chance to evaluate occasionally what is working and whether they are moving closer to their ultimate goal of life-giving communication with God in every area of life.

For example, one of the things I have noticed (and write about frequently here on my blog) is my tendency to allow notifications on my phone to distract me from my focus. (Click here to read my thoughts on smartphones.) Looking at the retreat outline above, that habit falls under the category of my “present reality.

However, the kind of future I envision with God is similar to the one I cultivate with friends: if I am having a conversation with someone, I put the phone away and focus on the relationship. I’d like to be more consistent in really listening to God, and this can’t happen when I’m pulled away by phone calls or emails every few minutes.

So to reach the goal of giving God my full attention, my specific action plan includes waiting until my quiet time is over before turning on my phone, and – to increase my focus during the day – returning to just a few set times daily when I check email and messages. I have learned that very few alerts on that phone demand my immediate attention, no matter how loud or persistent they seem!

A second priority for me is increasing the amount of prayer time I spend listening to God. It is easy – and sometimes tempting – to read the Word, send up a few personal requests for the day, and then move on. My richest quiet times, however, come when I allow God the time to speak in return, quietly journaling what I hear Him saying to me, or even taking the time to meditate more deeply on the scripture verses He “highlights” to me as I read. 

Tithe Your Time


If the idea of doing a mini prayer retreat interests you, I want to ask you to make a commitment to God right now to schedule that time – before you close this page and move on to the next things in your day! It is much easier to move forward spiritually when you set aside just a little time at the outset to create a plan and stay focused.

My mission, and the mission of His Inscriptions, is to Restore Life-giving Communication with God. If you decide to use the prayer retreat outline above, I’d love to hear how it works for you. 
In fact, if you have set a date and time for your retreat, I would be delighted to pray for you on that day, so that you can feel confident that God is speaking to you. There is power in unified prayer! Simply contact me here with the date and time of your prayer retreat.

Where to Do A Mini Prayer Retreat


​If you live in the New England area and need a quiet place to do a spiritual retreat, there are many options. The Sanctuary at Woodville, in Hopkinton, MA, has space for individual or corporate prayer retreats, as well as beautiful trails you can hike around a lake. (Bonus: It’s stunning in the Fall!) You can find more information here.

L’Abri is another well-known resource for Christians, with retreat centers in Massachusetts, Minnesota, Canada, England, Australia, Switzerland, Korea, and even Brazil. Guests spend half of each day in self-directed study and the other half working in the community. Dinnertime conversations and lectures are always spiritually focused and very enlightening! I have enjoyed many pleasant hours in both the American and Swiss Alps retreat houses. More info here.

For a large database of retreat centers in the Northeast (note: not all are Christian), click here for the RetreatFinder site. To connect online with others who pray, I highly recommend Pray.Network’s website, which also lists nationwide prayer events.

Lastly, check with churches in your local area for prayer rooms that are open to anyone wishing to use them. It is a rare church that will turn away someone who wants to invest time in prayer! These settings are usually quiet and conducive to personal reflection. 

One Final Note


You can download your own print-ready copy of the Mini Prayer Retreat strategy here. For more on the Living Forward book, including life-plan templates, visit the website here. I pray the Lord will use this simple, strategic idea to help you renew your relationship with Him!

~Deborah
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Right now, Deborah Perkins is outside collecting eggs from her coop full of chickens. While she enjoys cooking fresh breakfasts for her hubby and three sons, her true passion is to help people "Discover Life-Giving Communication with God." Her free blog, online Christian Resource Library, and mentoring courses on prayer and the prophetic are available to subscribers. Join the His Inscriptions community to strengthen your walk with God! 

©Deborah Perkins / www.HisInscriptions.com

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Will Next Year Be Any Better?

“Our notion of an optimist is a man who, knowing that each year was worse than the preceding, thinks next year will be better. And a pessimist is a man who knows the next year can’t be any worse than the last one.”  (Franklin Adams, 1944)

 

An end-of-the-year USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll reveals that 70% of people surveyed are dissatisfied with how things are going in America today. Only 49% predict 2015 will be better—the first time in a quarter center that optimism for the year ahead has fallen below 50%.

 

Though the stock market has shown positive signs and job numbers are growing, most Americans evidently have very low expectations that the new year will bring significant improvements to their lives. A stronger economy hasn’t helped everybody. Many people have quit looking for work, while others are underemployed. Governmental gridlock discourages many Americans; 77% predict that the stalemate will not improve over the next five years, while over a third expect it to get worse.

 

The bottom line, according to USA TODAY—“Our long national funk isn’t over.”  

 

Pessimists might react “If you think this year was bad, wait until next year; we haven’t seen anything yet!” Optimists may insist “There are some hopeful signs on the horizon; our country will turn around, just wait and see!” How will Christ followers respond?

 

In a time of rampant cynicism, will we still believe the future is as bright as the promises of God?

 

In a culture enamored with transitory material things, will we sing hymns out of an inner conviction of eternal realities?

 

In a society celebrating a holly-jolly-jingle-bell-rock-Rudolph-and-Frosty-and-shop-‘til-you-drop “Christmas”, will we give gifts to our loved ones while remembering that the greatest gift is our Savior?

 

In a nation focused on wish lists and getting what we want, will we align our lives by hope in anticipation of what God is going to do next?

 

In a world on the threshold of another year filled with potential problems, will we dare to live by faith in God, no matter what 2015 brings?

 

"Next Year in Jerusalem" is a statement of spiritual hope—that Jerusalem will be rebuilt spiritually, as the spiritual center of the world, with the Temple and the manifest Presence of God on earth, at its center. That’s a radical hope, derided by some as an impossible dream. However, the children of God keep dreaming and praying and hoping that the intractable problems plaguing us will be solved once and for all by the return and reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

The Christmas carol by Cecil Frances Alexander expresses well our ultimate reason for eternal optimism—“And our eyes at last shall see him, Through his own redeeming love; For that child so dear and gentle Is our Lord in heaven above, And he leads his children on To the place where he is gone.”

 

As much as we love America, it is good for us to recall a timeless truth—“We are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. He will bring everything under his control.” (Philippians 3:20, 21 NLT)   

 

“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”  (Romans 15:13 NLT)

 

A Christ-filled Christmas to you—and a Joyful, Peaceful, and Hopeful New Year!

 

Johnny R. Almond

Christian preacher and writer

Author, Gentle Whispers from Eternity

Blog http://GentleWhispersFromEternity-ScripturePersonalized.com/

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The New Year - 2015

                                   

                              2015 – Crowned With Blessings

Dear Friends,
First of all, I convey my very sincere Greetings and blessings to you in THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD, for the New Year – 2015. As I waited on the Lord and sought Him like Daniel in 9th Chapter, and asked Him to give me His word for us and for the people to whom I will be sharing the word, the Lord gave me His word which I declared in some churches and will be declaring here with you.

1. I am not a “soothsayer”, “predictor” Prophet” (or) a “Time setter
There are people who are called to do this and let them do it. The church to-day is cultivated in such a dangerous way that “Every one wants a word (or) a “Prophesy”! They are bent to believe men then HIS INFALLIBLE WORDS AND PROPHECIES ALREADY IN THE WORD!

2. The times are going to be hard and difficult and we all know it. It will be like in the days of Noah, full of sins and violence! Yes it is! That is one side of the coin. The other side is, “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.(Gen.6:8). On the one side sin abounds but on the other side GRACE ABOUNDS.” Amen! But How did he found grace in the eyes of the Lord? “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God.(Gen.6:9)
Those days were primitive, and there was no printed bible, no church or prayer fellowships, there were no preachers, he had never ever had any encounter with the Lord, and yet he was righteous and blameless before God. How much more the Lord will expect from us, as we now have all which Noah did not have in his time? Grace will be bountiful to people who separate from this crocked and wicked generation and walk in righteousness.


3. The creator God was hurt deeply and He was saddened for cresting the human race on earth. KNOW FOR SURE, THAT GOD IS WATCHING HUMAN RACE AND HIS HEART BLEED WHEN SIN AND VIOLENCE INCREASE ON EARTH. He is hurt as much we are hurt. The injustice, wars, crimes, debauchery and sins are known to Him. And the only way to cleanse this is to destroy the human race and make them to pray for its sins. God provided the means of escape for free in the person of LORD JESUS CHRIST, but HE HAS BEEN MOCKED AND REJECTED, and his CHURCH IS PERSECUTED CONTINUALLY. Then comes the judgment and this is His option and not ours.


4. The Living God takes the initiative and the first step of “Revealing His plan to Noah”. This is the reward for his righteous and blameless walk with the Lord. We call it Supernatural encounters in the life of believers and in the body of Christ. Every one who walked upright and prayed were honoured with “Supernatural visitations”! And this is the promise for the last day generations. “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:”(Joel.2:28). On the one side satan may do all that he can to damage “ His Eckklesia’ but on the other hand the LORD, will be liberal in pouring out HIS MIGHTY SPIRIT in to His People. His Church will have supernatural! Another classical example is that the enemies of the Gospel were killing St. Stephan, by throwing stones. At that moment ,” But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,(Acts.7:55). This unfortunately is not for cold hearted, lukewarm, and compromising christians; but for people who would rather “point blank gunshots” and die for the Lord Jesus as his mighty witnesses.
How did Noah recognize God when He Communed with Him? What an instinct and perception! This explains how Noah walked with His creator. His 500 years of walk with His “YEHWEH was so certain and so sure and familiar that when God Spoke He recognized His Voice. There are millions of Voices across the world. Some voices are from “wolves in sheep Clothing’. Some say, “I am He”. Others say,” He is in the Chamber”. But Lord Jesus Said,” My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:(Jn.10:27)” And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.(Jn.10:5)

5. The Lord said that He will save Noah and his family. The Lord God said,” But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you.(Gen.6:18). Totally Eight individuals. GOD MADE A COVENANT WITH NOAH AND HIS FAMILY.


A. How mindful God is! over His Children and how great is His Compassion. Noah will be saved from TOTAL annihilation.


B. A pact to save Noah’s 3 sons, their wives (3) and His wife. Life insured in Jesus!


As husbands and as fathers, our greatest concern is running and maintaining the family. I am glad that when God encountered Noah at his 500th year, he found with his wife. (he had not divorced her and it’s part of God’s righteousness). Families are important to raise godly generation. (And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.(Mal.2:15))And Noah’s wife was a female who can bear children. I am writing this purposely to make us realize the way satan perverted God’s plan of raising “Godly generation” on earth.not only in 2015 but eternally God, has chosen our family with a Covenant. The chosen one’s were a minority.

6. The Lord instructed to build an Ark and gather pair of animals and birds and gather food water for them all. The Ark is a place where Noah and His family will abide in safe and secure INSIDE, when the anger of God poured out in the world in the form of natural calamity, rain, thunder shower and a great deluge!
The Ark of Noah is symbolically “Depict” Christ’s Eckklesia” , which is the future Kingdom of God, and His Governance! The best and most secured place to be in is IN HIS CHURCH, which is the body of redeemed ones; also known as HIS BRIDE. A bride is always kept in the “Beloved’s Chamber”. Let us be glad and rejoice! THERE WAS ONLY ONE ARK AND THERE IS ONLY ONE CHURCH. And He is building His church. When it starts raining, the Ark will arise! Above the waters it will set sail. The powers of Hell will never be able to overcome it or destroy it! ARE WE FOUND IN THIS ARK?

7. The Ark finally be moored on mount Ararat. There is a meaning for this name as, “Curse Reversed”. Hallelujah! God’s ark the redeemed will be always be kept on the hill top and our curses were reversed on Mount Golgotha and takes us to mount Zion! “They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.(Ps.84:7), That’s our destiny and none can stop us!

8. There will be “Go Global” situation. Noah and his family were the seed to replenish and multiply the new world and earth. The Lord said, “And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth.

 

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It Seems To Me . . .

It Seems To Me . . .

. . . we need only one spiritual new year's resolution.

I confess, I have never been good at setting, let alone keeping, resolutions at the start of each new year. Those who stop smoking or start diets impress me; those who keep at it longer than a few days (or hours) make me jealous. And those who go beyond good health resolutions and set spiritual goals and stick to them throughout the coming months shame and humble me.

Anyone can make a resolution; it takes commitment to stay resolved to fight the battles to achieve the objective. And commitment, someone said, is moving beyond good intentions. I have a long list of good intentions.

Which is why Don Whitney's "Questions for a New Year" in LifeWay's Pastors Today E-letter caught my attention. The author, a former pastor and then seminary professor, presents 31 questions designed to aid our spiritual transformation; one-a-day spiritual vitamins! He writes: "The beginning of a new year is an ideal time to stop, look up and get our bearings."  I especially appreciate how he then formats his insights as questions because someone elses' declarations call for my agreement (not a bad thing) but questions call for my reflection and discernment. Much more potential of Holy Spirit partnership.

But I said we need only one spiritual new year's resolution, not 31.

"For starters, here are 10 questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God," Whitney begins as he sets us on our journey with wisdom that is so obvious we often fly right past it! How many of us have prayed about our resolutions but only after we selected them. "Help me lose those 5 extra pounds or start each day at the fitness center or stop this or begin that"--probably all worthy goals but chosen without and before any prayerful dialog with the Lord.

I began reading down the list of questions . . .

1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God?
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year?
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year?
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it?
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year?
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church?
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year?
8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year?
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year?
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity?

I searched first for any questions that related specifically to prayer and found #7, praying for lost persons to find Christ (imagine what changes our nation would see if every Christ-follower began to seriously pray for his or her neighbors by name and need and for his or her neighborhoods and networks!) and #9, focusing specifically on our own prayer life (someone said we need to exchange a prayer life [usually referring to a brief time spent telling God what we need Him to do] for a life of prayer). Two in the first ten seemed like better representation for prayer than usual. Very hopeful.

My second time through the list was an "Ah-Ha" moment!

Responding to the first, then the second and third and continuing, I realized "Pray" would be a more than appropriate answer to each question.
1. What's one thing you could do this year to increase your enjoyment of God? Pray. True prayer is enjoying the presence of God, not merely telling him things he already knows.
2. What's the most humanly impossible thing you will ask God to do this year? Pray. Praying is very hard work that, once accomplished, sees impossible results.
3. What's the single most important thing you could do to improve the quality of your family life this year? Pray. Especially out  loud, together.
4. In which spiritual discipline do you most want to make progress this year, and what will you do about it? Pray. Pray for a partner who will hold me accountable.
5. What is the single biggest time-waster in your life, and what will you do about it this year? Pray. What I do instead of praying is a hugh time-waster.
6. What is the most helpful new way you could strengthen your church? Pray. For the pastor. For a reviving of faith and a revising of how we function.
7. For whose salvation will you pray most fervently this year? Pray. Everyone agrees with this but not everyone brings up in heaven real names of real people.
8. What's the most important way you will, by God's grace, try to make this year different from last year? Pray. By praying about and for and through every thing.
9. What one thing could you do to improve your prayer life this year? Pray. Read, study, use website resources, yes, but actually carve out time and place to pray.
10. What single thing that you plan to do this year will matter most in 10 years? In eternity? Pray. Hands-down winner. Everything (missions, evangelism, stewardship) flows from the life of a person who has moved beyond good intentions to a life of prayer.

It seems to me . . . we need only one word to describe our one spiritual new year's resolution. (If you do not agree, will you at least agree to pray about it?)

For starters, here are 10 questions to ask prayerfully in the presence of God.

Phil Miglioratti

Originally published on the Church Prayer Leaders Network

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