Indeed, I have taken a silent retreat. It was harder and yet easier than I thought. There were times when I was very ready to be done with it and find someone to be with. Other times I really appreciated being by myself. Would I do it again? Yes, but perhaps for a shorter amount of time. :-)
I spent the time in three chunks:
1. Waiting on the Lord (Psalm 27:14; Psalm 62:5)
- for His presence (Psalm 139)
- for cleansing (Psalm 52 & 32; I John 1:9)
- to praise Him (Psalm 103 & 104)
2. Prayer for others
- ask specific things for them
- look up prayers in Scripture (Phil. 1:9-11; Col. 1:9-14; Eph 3:14-21)
- ask for other what you are praying for yourself
3. Prayer for yourself (Psalm 119:18)
- pray according to Scripture, read a book of the Bible aloud
- consider the objective of your life (in light of God's will)
- consider the activities of your life in light of your objectives
I spent most of Friday on the first section. I began with taking a long walk and talking to God. I knew I needed to pour out my heart and the concerns weighing upon it. There are so many distractions in my life that keep me from hearing the still, small voice of God and I wanted to get these out of the way first. Then I read through & prayed through each of the Scriptures that I mentioned above.
Friday was something of a detox day for me. I released a lot of pent up thoughts and concerns to God. I slept as much as I needed to and then I just waited on the Lord.
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