If you are planning or attending a women’s retreat and want Scripture that fits the weekend, this list gives you fifteen passages arranged by the moments a retreat tends to bring: the first arrival, the honest conversations, the quiet hours alone and the sending home. These readings are for leaders, speakers, small group facilitators and any woman who wants God’s word to shape the time away. What these verses share is a steady picture of God as near, faithful and willing to meet people in their weariness and their hope.
Verses for Arriving and Settling In
Most women arrive at a retreat carrying the week with them, still thinking about inboxes, children, and the list left on the kitchen counter. The passages below help you set that down and notice that you have been received, not merely scheduled.
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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When you first unpack your bag, take a slow breath and let this verse be your opening prayer. Try reading it aloud once, then sit for one full minute without checking your phone. The stillness it asks for is something you can practice before the first session even begins.
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 speaks to people who are worn out, which describes most of the women walking into any retreat. Consider naming one burden out loud in your small group on the first evening. Naming it is a way of accepting the invitation to rest instead of performing well.
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 at the hills and remembers where help actually comes from. Stand by a window or step outside for a few minutes on arrival and look at the sky or trees. Let the physical act of looking up stand in for the mental act of trusting.
Verses for Honest Conversation and Shared Hearts
A women’s retreat often creates space for conversations that do not happen in ordinary weeks. These passages speak to the courage it takes to tell the truth and the grace that makes it possible to listen well to others.
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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Two are better than one, the teacher writes, because each can lift the other when they fall. Look for one woman at your table with whom you can share a real struggle this weekend. Agree in advance to check in with each other at the close of 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 the practical heart of a retreat community. Ask one question in your group that invites someone to describe what is heavy for her right now. Then listen without rushing to fix it, which is itself a way of carrying the load.
James 1:19
So, then, my beloved brothers, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger…
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James advises people to be quick to hear and slow to speak, a hard discipline when a conversation touches something painful. Before you respond in a group discussion, pause and ask whether you have truly heard the woman speaking. This small habit can make the room feel safer for everyone.
Verses for Quiet Time Alone with God
Many retreats set aside hours for solitude, journaling and silent prayer. The readings in this section are meant for those unhurried moments, when you can linger over a single line rather than covering a chapter.
Psalm 62:1-2
1 My soul rests in God alone. My salvation is from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress— I will never be greatly shaken.
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The psalmist waits in silence and describes God as the source of his rock and salvation. Take a walk alone and repeat one phrase from this psalm with each few steps. Let the rhythm of walking and speaking settle your attention 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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In the middle of a sorrowful book, the writer remembers that God’s mercies are new each morning. If you wake early on the retreat, read this passage before anyone else is up and write down one mercy you already notice. Keep the list where you can see it on the final day.
Isaiah 40:29-31
29 He gives power to the weak. He increases the strength of him who has no might. 30 Even the youths faint and get weary, and the young men utterly fall; 31 But those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run, and not be weary. They will walk, and not faint.
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Isaiah says God gives strength to the weary and renews those who wait on him. Spend your quiet time asking God where you feel depleted and what waiting might look like there. Write a short prayer to God describing that place, trusting him to meet you in it.
Psalm 139:1-4
1 The LORD, you have searched me, and you know me. 2 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, the LORD, you know it altogether.
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This psalm reminds you that God knows your thoughts before you speak them and your words before they are formed. Use it as a prompt for honest prayer, since nothing needs to be hidden from him. Sit with the thought that you are fully known and still held.
Verses for Going Home Renewed
A retreat ends, and the real work of living what was received begins. These passages look toward the return home, the ordinary days ahead, and the God who goes with women into every kitchen, office and classroom.
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 tells Joshua to be strong and courageous because he is with him wherever he goes. Before you leave, write this verse on a card and place it somewhere you will see on your first morning back. Let it answer the fear that the retreat’s clarity will fade on the drive home.
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 patterns of the age but to be transformed by a renewed mind. Think of one habit from the weekend, such as a daily silence or a weekly prayer partner, that you want to keep. Choose the smallest version of it you can realistically sustain.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.
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Paul moves from anxiety to prayer and then to a peace that guards the heart. As you prepare to leave, bring the worries about returning home to God in specific words rather than vague unease. Note where that peace shows up in your first week back.
Numbers 6:24-26
24 ‘The LORD bless you, and keep you. 25 The LORD make his face to shine on you, and be gracious to you. 26 The LORD lift up his face toward you, and give you peace.’
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This ancient blessing asks God to keep, be gracious and give peace. Speak it over the women in your group during closing prayers or pray it silently as you say goodbye. Blessing one another is a practice that can carry the retreat’s warmth into daily life.
How to Use These Verses
Write the references you choose on index cards or in a shared document before the retreat begins, so that leaders and participants can find them quickly. Read each passage aloud at least twice, once at the start of a session and once more before you move on, because hearing a text helps it stay with you. Mark a few verses that speak to you most strongly and return to them during free time.
Pray the verses instead of only reading them. Turn a line like Psalm 46:10 into a short prayer of your own, or ask God how a passage applies to the specific season you are in. A retreat is a good time to practice this habit, and the women you spend the weekend with can become your prayer partners for the weeks that follow.
A Short Prayer for a Women’s Retreat
Lord, thank you for drawing us away from our routines and into a space where we can hear your voice more clearly. Quiet our hurried hearts and teach us to rest in you the way a child rests in a parent’s arms. Give us honest words for one another and the patience to listen well. Let the truths we read here take root in our ordinary days, so that what we receive this weekend keeps growing long after we return home. Amen.
