What would make 430 women, some driving all night from Miami, FL, converge on White Oak Conference Center (WOCC) in Winnsboro, SC? A hunger to become more intimate with God through prayer! That is what “Women Who Request By Prayer,” a prayer retreat for women held February 27-28, 2009, at WOCC offered. Women came, not to hear a “big name speaker” because there was none. They came to hear what the Lord had to teach them concerning prayer, through the mouths of ordinary women (and one man) who have extraordinary prayer lives.

A 2007 survey of women in South Carolina by the South Carolina Baptist Convention (SCBC) Ministry to Women revealed that 86% of the respondents wanted their “church to offer more instruction on prayer.” Women are hungry to learn about prayer and to pray aright, and “Women Who Request By Prayer” provided biblical teaching on the prayer of repentance, how to pray the Scriptures, the power of prayer coupled with fasting, the relationship of prayer and revival, the freedom from fear and fearful situations that exists through prayer, how to pray for lost people, and the power of corporate prayer.

But the retreat went further than just teaching on the biblical principles about prayer because it gave women practical opportunities to apply the teachings by actually praying in small groups called prayer closet sessions. Women could choose three (3) different prayer closet sessions from a list of 20 dealing with a variety of prayer concerns such as singleness, missions, lost people, finances and the economy, marriage and family, prodigals, forgiveness and repentance, and many more.

But the retreat went even further by providing a prayer manual for women to take home. The manual contained the prayer guides for every prayer closet session offered, so that they would be equipped to lead other women in their sphere of influence in prayer as well.

But the retreat went further than that, as prayer exhibits were available to enable women to experience different ways to pray. Women could walk along the Grand Trunk Road in India or pray for missionaries serving in South Carolina through photographs and prayer requests mounted on the WOCC walls. They also experienced the powerful and moving Participatory Prayer Experience, a prayer exhibit available through the SCBC that takes one on a journey of prayer from personal confession to praying for the redemption of the lost worldwide.

But the retreat did not stop there and further offered women three opportunities to come to the altar to ask and accept forgiveness of sin, seek repentance and restoration in their relationship with God, and carry out whatever unfinished business they needed to with God.

But that was not all because in the midst of it all, the Holy Spirit of God Almighty demonstrated His pleasure with what was taking place at the retreat by tangibly manifesting His presence during one of the teaching sessions. The teacher for that session showed her sensitivity to God’s manifestation of Himself by stopping her teaching and encouraging the women to pray. Some women responded by moving to the altar, others knelt by their seats. Still others wept and moaned, but everyone prayed silently or aloud as God’s Spirit moved through the auditorium.

By the end of the retreat on Saturday, February 28, 2009,

·         Professions of faith had been made

·         Repentance of sin and restored fellowship with God had occurred

·         Practical help on how to grow more intimate with God through prayer was received, and

·         Answers to prayers had been received.

“Women Who Request By Prayer” was an historic occasion for several reasons:

1.      It was the first major teaching and equipping event for the SCBC Ministry to Women’s strategy of Teaching and Applying Biblical Truths.

2.      It was a one-time prayer retreat intended to give women who attended a model that they can adapt and implement in their region of the state.

3.      It was the first time that women of diverse ethnicities, races and ages had come together to worship, learn and pray together. Hispanic women were included in the general teaching sessions with the help of translators, and there were prayer closet sessions conducted in Spanish only.

4.      It was preceded by months of prayer and a Jericho Walk at WOCC that consecrated the location and set the atmosphere for what God would do.

5.      It was surprising that women registered and attended not knowing beforehand who would be the teachers, worship leaders and prayer closet leaders.

6.      It demonstrated that there is a tremendous hunger among women to learn to pray and to pray, that must be fed.

The SCBC Ministry to Women calls upon the pastors of the 108 churches from which women came, to partner with us to plan and implement four (4) regional women’s prayer retreats in 2010. The women of your churches need your support and encouragement to work with the Ministry to Women to realize these retreats so that not just 430, but 430 x 4 women across SC can be equipped and mobilized for prayer.

The great awakenings that have taken place in Christendom show that revival always begins with prayer. At this point in time the state of SC, the nation and the world are hungry and needy for spiritual awakening and renewal that can only come “if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land,” 2 Chronicles 7:14 (NKJV).