A Time to Retreat

If you've ever seen the mini-series "Band of Brothers", you begin to understand the horrors of war. The impact that such times have on your soul can weaken you to the point that the irrational appears right. Of course for the members of Easy Company, that could easily mean death. And so, time away of the front lines, an individual or company retreat, may mean the difference in life and death.

While an undergrad student, I decided to escape some Saturday to spend a day purely in prayer. It only remained an intention. Today, I still regret never doing this.

We often see our Lord retreating early in the morning before anyone else was awake. In fact, it's crazy the number of times the gospel writers mention it. I'm betting they asked Jesus what He was up to so early. And I'd bet that's what prompted them to ask Him how to pray.

I don't like war analogies when it comes to our spiritual life. We too often confuse whom we oppose. But Paul was clear that, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." When engaged in a life and death struggle, don't forget that you have to pray, you need to pray, and He longs for you to pray! (Gal. 6:10-20)