A day-of-prayer retreat, an entire day spent with others in prayer, is one way of focusing your energy and attention on prayer and giving it the priority it merits. Your day of prayer may take different forms, but it should include the following basic elements.
Prayers of Praise and Thanks
Even before you spend time sharing with your group, it is important to focus on God and praise Him. Begin with songs of praise, directing your thoughts as a group to the person and work of God.
Sharing Your Lives Getting to know each other is an important part of a retreat. Ask each person to give a three-minute personal biography that includes a testimony of faith and a brief sketch of his or her journey into the discipline of prayer.
Prayers of Repentance and Recommitment This is a cleansing experience that prepares you as a group for the work of prayer that lies ahead. Form prayer triplets, and spend time confessing before God the sins that stand in the way. Then rejoin the larger group, and sing songs that emphasize Gods grace, mercy, and forgiveness.
Prayers of Intercession
Use this time to pray as one group (if you have more than 15 people, you should form two or more groups). Focus your intercession on the health and mission of the church and on the personal ministries of each person present.
Reflection and Sharing Time
Ask participants to write a brief journal entry addressing what they would say to God about themselves, their ministries, and their futures based on this prayer experience. Then have them write down what they sense God is saying to them. Gather the entire group, and ask each person to briefly read a portion of what he or she has written.
Future Commitment
As you come to the close of an intense day of fellowship in prayer, prayerfully consider making commitments to each other that extend into the futurepraying for one another, meeting in a prayer support group, etc.
Closing
Give your closing moments together a sense of liturgy, a flow between yourselves and God, perhaps using Jude 24-25 as a word to God and 1 Thess. 5:16-19,21-24 as Gods word to you.
