Father, I find myself
excited and a little anxious as I begin this time away.
I’m not entirely sure what
I want or expect.
I am going to try to leave
the results to you.
Help me to trust you.
Please take care of me and
use this time for my good and your glory.
Lord, thank you that your presence and power and goodness don't depend on my faith or understanding.
You are there
anyway and you are strong and good so that’s what counts.
Lord, I think I believe.
Help my unbelief.
Father God,
Thank you for all your
love and goodness to me;
For the many blessings you
have given me;
And your presence here
with me now.
Thank you specifically
for…
Blessings of creation /
“natural” blessings e.g. home, family, food, money, time, freedom etc.
Blessings of redemption /
“supernatural” blessings e.g. election, justification, atonement, redemption,
adoption, home etc.
Thank you for the time and
resources which make this retreat possible and all those who have contributed
towards it.
I commit to you all those
whom I love and the situations and issues I have left behind particularly my
family and those for whom I have a care and those covering for my absence.
Specifically, I pray for….
I turn from all that I
know to be wrong
And turn back to you.
I confess…
Sins of commission….
Sins of omission….
Of thought, word and deed…
I offer you myself and
this time.
Be with me.
Give me sincerity and
simplicity of heart
And radical and absolute
honesty.
Grant me worthwhile
insight into my ways, which are sometimes a mystery to me.
Thank you that you already
know me better than I know myself and that you love me with all my faults and
foibles.
Give me my daily bread.
And the measure of health
and strength which I need.
Increase my hunger for you
and by your grace satisfy me with good things.
Grant me a fresh vision of
you.
If it is your will, I pray
for good rest and sleep.
Help me to slow down and
attend to you and to myself.
May I get to the real
business of why you would have me be here and not be distracted from it.
May I not fuss about
things like noises and the temperature of the room.
Give me a measure of
freedom from these things that I might devote myself more fully to you.
Give me your peace.
Thank you for the gift of
the Scriptures.
And all that I have heard
and learnt of them over the years.
Cause me to call to mind
your word.
May it penetrate deep
within me and soak into my mind, heart and soul.
Season me with your truth.
Teach me your ways that I
might walk in them.
Lead me not into hard
testing but deliver me from evil.
Even as I spend this time
alone, make me forgetful of myself.
May I die to self and rise
to new life in Jesus.
Make me like him and help
me to follow him.
Use this time when I am
alone not only for my own well-being, but for the good of others.
I abandon my agenda for
this time and pray that your will would be done.
Help me to use this time
wisely and well, without being precious or anxious.
Lord, I pray that I might
not over-complicate discipleship.
Or at least that I might
not use any complication as an excuse for lack of effort or for seeking
godliness.
Help me to love you and
love my neighbour.
I pray that there might be
a certain simplicity about my character and life.
Help me to leave the
results of this time in your hands.
For my good and the good
of those I love and pray for, and to your glory, hear these prayers and the
unspoken, even not fully known, prayers of my heart, which I offer and present
to you in the name of Jesus Christ, claiming only his merits and by virtue of
his all-powerful intercession.
Amen.
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