Prayer retreat: a remarkable experience

By Glen Weber

SPOKANE, Washington--I want to share with you a remarkable experience I went through Jan. 22 and 23.

I heard a radio commercial for a two-day prayer retreat for pastors from the Spokane area. I called the organizer and asked to attend.

After a short interview about changes in the Worldwide Church of God, he agreed that I could attend.

The pastors caught a bus Monday morning, Jan. 22, to a church camp about an hour away. We spent the night and returned Tuesday afternoon.

When I took my seat on the bus I asked God to have the appropriate person sit next to me. God chose the right person--a businessman who is developing a prison ministry.

After we discussed his ministry, we began talking about my ministry. The more I talked the more excited he became. He kept saying, "Praise God!"

When we arrived he said, "You've got a testimony you need to share with everyone." He spread my message everywhere he could.

Monday we started with introductions. About 50 evangelical pastors and a couple of charismatics were there. I talked about our teaching on being born again, the Trinity and the new covenant.

The more I talked the more the "hallelujahs," "praise Gods" and "amens" flowed from the audience. At the end of my comments were extended applause and many comments such as "welcome brother." It was hard to keep my eyes dry.

We then had two days of praying, singing and Scripture reading--as the Spirit led. It was exciting to see the Holy Spirit work in that way.

Every time we took a break, pastors asked me about the changes. Each one was excited.

Numerous ones would say, "I can't wait to get home and tell my wife about this," or "I can't wait to tell my congregation about this."

A couple of times we broke into small groups for prayer. Each time, pastors wanted to pray for the Worldwide Church of God and praise God for what he had done and to pray for the healing of the members and ministry.

One pastor asked God to convict him to pray for the Worldwide Church of God every day and after the prayer he asked me if he could attend one of our services.

However, he also asked me a pointed question: "Now that you understand born again, how many of your pastors are actually born again, and how many are simply men who were converted to be law keepers who no longer need to keep the law?"

Monday evening I experienced one of the most remarkable occasions of my life. After dinner we returned to the meeting room. A communion table was set up in the middle of the room with dinner rolls and grape juice.

The evening started by "worshiping God and seeking his face." Many sobering prayers and moving songs followed focusing on the meaning of the blood and body of Jesus Christ.

For about an hour we did nothing except quote from memory passages of scripture about our Savior.

After more hymns, the lights were turned out and two candles on the table were our light. We were then instructed that if there was anyone in the room with whom we had a problem, we were to get it straightened out before going to the Lord's Table.

It was inspiring to see a couple of pastors come and kneel at another pastor's feet and quietly talk, then each would pray and then they would proceed to the table and share the communion with each other.

The man who sat with me on the bus asked if I would take communion with him. We knelt together beside the table, broke bread and then partook of the grape juice.

I said a prayer thanking God for the sacrifice of Jesus (with a chorus of "amens" and "praise Gods" from my partner). I have participated in 24 Passover services and feel this was as equally meaningful as any of those services.

I now have several good friends in the ministry of Jesus Christ with whom I plan to keep in contact, including a Free Methodist, a Presbyterian and several independents.

If you are not comfortable with the new teachings I would not recommend attending a prayer retreat: for example, if you can only see yourself taking "the Passover" and that only once a year (I have to admit I had to read 1 Corinthians 11 while I was sitting there just to help my own conscience).

If you are comfortable and your conscience will allow you to "push the envelope" a little, you will come away refreshed, feeling closer to God and suddenly having numerous friends in the ministry in your own city or town. The determination of those men to reach all of Spokane and beyond with the gospel of Christ was encouraging. I made friends with a couple of mainline pastors who have congregations that are dying because they have not evangelized for years.

I found it somewhat humorous that I caught myself spending considerable time with them giving them ideas of how they could evangelize their neighborhoods--and to think that two years ago I would have been trying to evangelize their members as deceived non-Christians! It's wonderful to be only a part of the body of Jesus Christ and to have so many other parts of the body actively functioning.

I felt encouraged that we may be able to be an active part of a great revival.

My experience with the prayer retreat was frightening until I started talking to the man on the bus. From that time forward my life has been even more fully transformed. I'm now excited about how we as a church can be used for reconciliation and enjoy being part of Christ's body.

I asked my congregation to pray about an idea I have. With the Feast of Tabernacles coordinating experience I have, I'd really like to use it to coordinate a Thanksgiving service for many of the churches in Spokane.

I've worked with all the necessary people while coordinating the Feast here. I'm planning to get involved right away with the Evangelical Association and see what can be done. Wouldn't it be great to coordinate a service that would fill the local arena--about 13,000 people?

I plan to have a prayer retreat for the local congregations. We were planning a marriage retreat, but I felt at the present our relationship with Jesus Christ was more important. That will also help the marriages. The brethren responded positively.

In fact, after I announced the experiences I had at the prayer retreat and mentioned some of the goals I'd like to accomplish, the deacon leading songs led a meaningful prayer of thanks to God for sending my wife, Connie, and me "here to move us forward." I was quite moved.

Glen Weber pastors the Spokane and Clarkston, Washington, and Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, churches.

Copyright © Worldwide Church of God,1996