A Personal Retreat for Christians

This guide is for Christians who would like to take a personal retreat with God. This is specific to Christians and not retreats in general because Christian retreats are different. Other faiths seek to contact something that is not Jesus Christ. Secular retreats are concerned with psychological self-help. The Christian retreat is based first on hearing God’s word in the Bible and through His Holy Spirit, and secondarily with good physical and psychological practices. (Mind you these are good things; they are just not the most important things.)

It can be hard to get that kind of time. But you need to ask yourself – What does God want me to do?

But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (Mt. 6:6)

But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities. But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray. (Lk. 5:15-16)

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. (Lk. 6:12)

And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. (Mk. 6:31)

So if you want to go on a retreat but think you can’t… ask God to make a way where there seems to be no way.

Where to Take Your Retreat
Can you retreat at home? You can, especially with the half day retreats. However, home can be mightily distracting. I suggest that you do something different than you normally do, such as take the retreat on your porch or deck. If it’s cold or too public (or you don’t have a porch or deck), then change the furniture around or go into a room you don’t spend a lot of time in. You can also prepare a place for a retreat by cleaning a spot of its usual bric-a-brac and bringing in plants and candles. Anything to make it look different and welcoming.

Can you retreat at your church? Maybe. Your local church probably knows you well and you’re likely to run into people you know. You will have to plan your location carefully to avoid talking to everyone who comes into the church during the day. I would suggest you tell the pastor what you are doing and then take your retreat in the sanctuary where people are less likely to be running in and out.

Ideally you would go elsewhere. Here are some ideas:

• A local monastery or convent. You don’t have to be Roman Catholic or Episcopalian to be welcome at their guest houses. Call beforehand since not all monasteries are set up to take retreatants, but many are.
• Park or public garden. There will be other people around but they won’t interrupt you. You do need a quiet place though, so find a place off the beaten track such as a secluded bench away from the action.
• Ocean, lakeside or forest. It’s easier to find a private place in the forest than by a beach – something about all those trees. But if you can find a secluded beach or quiet lakeside, then go for it. And if you or someone you know owns a vacation property where you can be alone, that is close to ideal.
• Someone else’s house. This can be a little unusual but you might be able to arrange some retreat time at a friend’s or parents’ house. It should go without saying that the friend and parents shouldn’t be there at the same time.

Keep the cell phone off and the Internet connection at home. Some of you are getting the shakes even as we speak, because what if the world should blow up during the six hours you do not have your cell phone turned on? Honestly, if you have an ailing parent, child or pet you’re not going to be on away on a retreat anyway. As for the Internet connection, lose it. I most often journal on my laptop so you can bring a laptop if you like, but turn off the wireless connection. Sure you can get to the excellent www.BibleGateway.com on line, but Facebook also beckons. Turn it off.

What to Take on Retreat
First and foremost, take your need along with you. What is the reason you want to retreat? For example:

• God’s guidance for a relationship.
• God’s guidance with your career, business or school.
• A closer relationship with God.
• Help with a persistent sin or weakness.
• A need to find out God’s will.
• A quiet place where you can experiment with prayer.
• Or just a need to get away and quietly listen to the Father who loves you.

Wear comfortable clothes and shoes. You don’t want to be distracted by uncomfortable clothing and you should also go walking if you can. One of the important places to meet God and to worship him is in the beauty of his creation.

Bring your Bible.

Bring something to journal with. Journal ideas include good old paper and pen. When I’m away from my computer I take a blank book with me and write in that. I have a whole collection of them by now. You might also use a laptop or netbook. If you journal electronically then bring it along, just turn off the Internet! Also consider bringing materials for a visual journal. Bring along paper and art supplies such as markers, colored pencils, watercolors, and collage materials. It doesn’t matter if you’re artistically any good or not.

Bring snacks or a lunch and water. Or if you are fasting, just bring the water and maybe a thermos of coffee. (That’s probably fast cheating but I do it anyway.)

Bring Christian books to read but don’t send the whole day reading! You are there to talk and listen to God. He can speak to you through the pages of a book but it can be tempting to keep on reading instead of engaging with God. So read books but pray and journal over what you read.

At the Retreat
The point of the above is to PRAY. You will pray over different things. You will pray over your Bible reading and Christian books. You will pray as you journal. You will pray as you walk. You will pray as you wrestle with issues and learning. You will pray as you relax into the presence of God in silence.

Exercises for Entering Prayer

Hands Up, Hands Down
Put your hands in your lap. Ask God for his loving presence, and then lift up your hands and turn them palms down saying something like “I release anxiety.” Now turn your palms up and say “I receive peace.” You can repeat this with these same emotions or different ones as often as you need until you are calm, or at least calmer than when you started! Name whatever negative emotions you want to release, picture these emotions flowing down from your down-turned palms and disappearing in mid-air, then picture the positive emotions flowing down from God, settling in your palms, and moving through your body.

Breath In, Breath Out
This exercise is similar to Hands Up, Hands Down, except you do it with deep breathing. Say, “I breathe out fear,” as you breathe out, and “I breathe in love” as you take a deep breath. Picture the positive emotions filling your body as does the fresh air.

If your deep breathing threatens to put you to sleep (it happens!) you may also do a series of chest breaths to energize your body and mind. To do these, take five deep breaths from the top of your chest, sucking in air and breathing it out with a deep sigh.

As you breathe, center and focus your thoughts. It may help to have a visual focus such as a candle or a picture. I use pictures of beautiful landscapes because I feel especially close to God in nature, but it can be anything that touches your heart and makes you feel closer to God.

That’s really it, that’s the whole point. Talking to God. Sometimes all God wants from us is our attention. Why? So He can show us that He loves us. How amazing, how life-changing is that? So listen. Just listen.