This list gives men preparing for or attending a men’s retreat a set of Bible readings chosen for the particular rhythm of a retreat: leaving ordinary routines, listening more than speaking, facing honest questions with other men, and returning home changed. The verses are grouped by moment, from the first morning together to the long walk back to the car. What they share is a steady picture of God who calls men into reliance, confession, service and hope, and who meets them in the company of others.
Verses for Arriving and Setting Down Your Load
Most men arrive at a retreat tired from work, family demands and their own unspoken worries. These readings invite you to stop carrying everything yourself and to let God be the one who sustains you through the weekend.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
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Arriving at a retreat often means your phone is still buzzing with obligations. This psalm calls you to be still and recognize God, and a practical way to live it is to leave your phone in the car for the first hour and simply sit with the quiet.
Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Jesus names exhaustion directly and offers rest that is not earned. Carry this promise into your first night by naming aloud, to God alone, the one burden you brought up the mountain, and then deliberately setting it down.
Psalm 121:1-2
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills. Where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.
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The psalmist looks up from the road to find help. As you drive in or hike to the lodge, lift your eyes from the dashboard to the hills around you and remember that your help does not depend on your own strength.
Verses for Honest Talk with Other Men
A retreat works when men are willing to speak plainly and listen without rushing to fix one another. These passages speak to confession, encouragement and the courage it takes to be known by brothers in the faith.
Proverbs 27:17
Iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens his friend’s countenance.
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Iron sharpens iron through friction, and men are often sharpened by conversations that are uncomfortable at first. In your small group, ask one question you would normally avoid and listen closely to the answer.
James 5:16
Confess your offenses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The insistent prayer of a righteous person is powerfully effective.
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James links confession with healing and prayer within the community of believers. Choose one man in your group and tell him something true about where you are struggling, then ask him to pray for you before the weekend ends.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10
9 Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him who is alone when he falls, and doesn’t have another to lift him up.
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The writer observes that two are better than one because they help each other up when they fall. Before you leave, make a specific plan to call or meet a man you met this weekend, so the friendship continues past the retreat.
Galatians 6:2
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
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Bearing one another’s burdens is a command, not a suggestion. During a breakout session, pay attention to who looks weighed down and offer a concrete act of help, such as a ride, a meal or a follow-up message in the coming weeks.
Verses for Strength and Commitment
The retreat speaks to a man’s sense of purpose: who he is called to be as a husband, father, friend and worker. These readings call for courage, steady faith and a willingness to take the next step.
Joshua 1:9
Haven’t I commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be afraid. Don’t be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
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God commands Joshua to be strong and courageous before a task he cannot yet see the end of. Write this verse on an index card and keep it in your pocket as a reminder of the strength that comes from God’s presence rather than your own confidence.
1 Corinthians 16:13
Watch! Stand firm in the faith! Be courageous! Be strong!
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Paul gives a short charge to stay alert, stand firm and act with courage and strength. Consider one area of your life where you have grown passive, and decide on one specific action this week that shows you are standing firm.
Micah 6:8
He has shown you, O man, what is good. What does the LORD require of you, but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
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Micah summarizes what God requires in simple, demanding terms: justice, mercy and humble walking with God. Use this verse as a test when you return home, asking in each decision whether it reflects fairness, kindness and humility.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.
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Paul’s confidence rests in Christ rather than in his circumstances. When you feel you cannot face the coming weeks, pray this verse slowly and then name one responsibility you will take on in Christ’s strength.
Verses for the Long Road Home
The retreat ends, but the calling continues. These passages look ahead to ordinary days, where faith is tested and where the lessons of the weekend must become daily habits.
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
6 These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; 7 and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
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Moses tells Israel to speak of God’s words at home and on the road. On the drive back, talk with a son, partner or friend about one thing God showed you this weekend, so the lesson takes root in ordinary conversation.
Romans 12:2
Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is the good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God.
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Paul urges believers not to be shaped by the pattern of the world but to be transformed by renewed thinking. Identify one habit or media input that works against what you learned here, and replace it with a practice that keeps your mind on God.
Lamentations 3:22-23
22 It is because of the LORD’s loving kindnesses that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn’t fail. 23 They are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
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Even in grief, the writer remembers God’s faithful love, which is new every morning. When you wake up Monday overwhelmed, read these lines first and let them set the tone for the day before the emails begin.
Colossians 3:23
And whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord, and not for men…
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Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart as serving the Lord. Take this verse into your job on Monday morning and choose one task you have been treating as a chore, doing it as an act of worship.
Psalm 90:12
So teach us to count our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
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Moses asks God to teach us to number our days so we may grow wise. Before leaving the retreat, write down one way you will spend your time differently this month, and set a reminder to review it at the end of the week.
How to Use These Verses
Write the verses you choose on cards or in a notebook you bring to the retreat. Keep them in your pocket or Bible so you can read them during free time, before meals, or late at night when a difficult conversation has stirred something up. Reading a single passage slowly two or three times usually does more than skimming a dozen.
Read these verses in pairs with a friend or your small group, taking turns reading aloud and sharing one sentence that stood out. Pray them back to God in your own words, and then afterward, revisit the list once a week for the next month, asking which verse has become most real in your daily life.
A Short Prayer for a Men’s Retreat
Lord, thank you for bringing us together out of our busy lives into a place of quiet and honest conversation. Give us the courage to speak truthfully, the humility to listen well, and the strength to carry what we learn back to our homes, our work and our friendships. Where we are tired, give us rest. Where we are proud, show us mercy. Where we are unsure of the road ahead, remind us that you go before us. Keep the brothers in this room close to you, and let our faith grow deeper in the coming weeks. Amen.
