We enjoyed another great day of worship at Spring Creek. When the last person left, I hurried to the house to pack my bags for a long- anticipated trip to the prayer cabin. The prayer cabin is a place nestled in deep east Texas among the Pine trees. It is a place God has allowed me to have access to for the past 25 years. I come here to pray, write, and be renewed.
The prayer cabin is a small two- bedroom house with brown wood siding. It has a brick fireplace, though I have never seen it used in all these years. The cabin has a small kitchen, two bathrooms and a living room with furniture well over 30 years old. The dining table serves as my desk where I journal and write.
The prayer cabin is located two and a half hours from Weatherford, TX. I traveled through Fort Worth and felt relief to leave big city life in the dust. I reached my destination landmarked by two cemented statues of eagles lining the dirt road onto the property. Many years ago, this place was named Eagles Rest Retreat. Ironically, I have seen eagles on this place many times over the years.
The long dirt road to the back of the property leads to the prayer cabin. You drive through a gully and through two security gates to get here. The cabin sits in the middle of 400 acres. A pine thicket lies to the left when you pull up. Pine trees always make me feel at home. You can take the boy out of east Texas, but you can never take the east Texas out of the boy. To the right sits an impressive log house with several bedrooms. The back porch of the cabin overlooks a beautiful tranquil 90- acre private lake. Just beyond the lake are rolling hills of pasture and another thicket of trees.
This is holy ground. A place I’ve encountered God repeatedly. Sacred soil. It has been a long time since I was last here. Even longer since I was here for a real prayer retreat. The longest of my entire ministry. So long I can’t remember the last time I spent more than one night here in a row.
I am grateful for a wife and a church who understand why I retreated. They know I did not come here for a vacation.
When I unloaded the car I settled in and voiced a prayer. “Lord, I ask You to meet me here in the most profound way You ever have in all the times I have come to this place. I ask You to fill me. I came for no other purpose than to seek You and receive what You have for me.”
With that prayer, I have been off and running. Praying. Reading. Reflecting. A buffet of silence and solitude other than the chirping of the birds and drop by visits from the host. I have three full days scheduled to be here. I hope to make the most of them.
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