Jacqueline P. Thornton is First Lady of Sweet Hope Free Will Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland.  She is also a Claims Representative for State Farm Insurance Company.  A few years ago the Women of Wisdom ministry at our church had a three day retreat. During the planning of the retreat, along with one of the ministers at our church, I realized that many of our ladies had never been on a retreat. Some had never experienced ‘getting away,’ to allow the Lord to minister to them away from the sanctuary. As we prepared for the retreat, I encouraged those who would be attending to be ‘selfish’ and allow God to minister to them individually and get all that God wanted to give them during the three days. I urged the women not to allow the adversary to interrupt what God had planned just for them. I urged the women not to leave the retreat the same way they arrived. The women were asked to fast and pray prior to the retreat in preparation of what God would do.

Upon arrival at the Black Rock Retreat Center in Pennsylvania we marveled at the massive acreage and the calm serenity that surrounded us. We enjoyed powerful preaching each day. We dined together for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Throughout the retreat, everyone was encouraged to find a quiet place on the grounds and be still with God. 

One of the highlights we experienced was the ‘Prayer Wall.’ The ladies were asked to write their prayer requests on a large piece of construction paper. The paper covered an entire wall from one end to the other. It was an awesome sight to see the ladies writing their prayer requests on the wall.  Each woman was designated a time slot to pray at the wall throughout the three days. Prayers were offered consistently throughout the retreat. Even when preaching was going on, someone was always on duty praying at the wall.

When it was my time to pray, I started at one end of the wall and made my way to the end. It took about an hour as I read and prayed for each prayer concern. Reading the prayers was very moving and I left the wall flooded with tears.  During times of reflection, we heard stories of prayers being answered while at the retreat. Yokes were broken and deliverance came to many in attendance.

Another high moment was the burning of the prayers. At the end of the retreat, the ‘Prayer Wall’ was taken down and rolled up. There was also a box called ‘Hot Prayers’ which was designated for women to place their anonymous prayers. Once all the prayers were gathered together, everyone walked to the campfire area where we lit a fire. We sang, prayed and burned all of the prayers allowing the aroma from the fire to ascend up towards heaven as we asked the Lord to grant answers to all of the prayers. It was truly a monumental experience for everyone in attendance.

When we returned to church that Sunday, the spirit was still very high for all of us who attended the retreat and we praised and thanked God for ministering to us.  Pastor Thornton preached a word that sealed all that God did for us at the retreat.  We were all truly blessed because we took the time to retreat with God and for that, we are grateful.