Restore prayer retreat opened in the summer of 2018. We began as a monthly day retreat for prayer and creativity. We felt that since lockdown people who come along need a place to be quiet, so we now provide a day for this each week.

There are many forms of prayer: intercessory prayer, petitionary prayer, speaking in tongues, corporate prayer and all are equally valid and important in building our relationship with God. However, we have found that contemplative prayer in particular can allow us to experience God’s love and care for us. The idea of retreat from the hurly burly of the world to a place that allows for quiet communion with God is an ancient practice, but it is now receiving more interest from people as it has become more necessary with our increasingly strident, time poor society. To be still and not ‘do’ anything has become counter-cultural. Pete Greig the founder of the 24/7 prayer movement has said:

The best way to start praying is to stop praying, to pause, to be still, to put down your prayer list and surrender your own personal agenda, to stop talking at God long enough to focus on the wonder of who He actually is, to be still before Him.

(Pete Grieg – How to Pray: A Simple Guide for Normal People)

We are just beginning this adventure of silence and solitude. The practice is not contrary to other types of prayer, but it has been utterly transformative to our intimacy and love for God and deepening our relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. We have only just begun to understand the history and the people who have brought and developed this practice, but we hope to share it with you.