We have been hearing that Lent is for giving up our favorite things, especially food. It is about overcoming our weakness for faith and the need to depend on Jesus Christ.
Of course, Lent is a wonderful part of the Church calendar. The purpose of Lent is a period of time to remember Jesus’ fasting in the wilderness and to remember our need for penitence. The Faithful use this period of time to develop a spiritual practice that strengthens their faith in Christ.
Fasting is an important spiritual discipline and the main focus for those who practice Lent. We give up something to gain something in return. Fasting helps us to remember our dependence on God. Fasting breaks chains and sets us free. Fasting honors God and causes us to remember what Jesus did for us. It leads us to find nourishment in God, and it’s one of several spiritual disciplines.
What to Do Instead of Giving Something Up
The other spiritual practices are to study, worship, pray, fellowship, confession, and surrender. Instead of giving something up, we added these activities into our day. The spiritual practices grow our faith in the Lord. They challenge us to depend on him.
They will reveal our need to repent and to cling to God for strength. In the remaining days till Easter, rotate through each one.
1. Study the Bible
Proverbs 3 tells us to not forget God’s teachings and to keep his commands in our hearts. Read John 14-21 in the days leading up to Easter.
Read this article for tips on how to study the Bible. Use a special journal or notebook for the period of Lent and how much you covered reading and meditating on the words. Each year add to it as you study these passages. Write your prayers and thoughts on a particular verse if any you have. You can feel how God uses this time to grow your faith.
2. Worship God
There is no specific time to worship God. We can do it once you wake up, while you drive your car, or while you are in the kitchen. You can add worship music that glorifies God to your day.
Find someplace or someone to serve. Worship is more than praising God with music, it’s living a life that honors him.
3. Prayer
Prayer is the gift of communication between us and the Lord. It’s where we pour out our hearts to him and listen for his response.
Paul tells us not to be anxious but to pray. Anxiety becomes like a needle on a record playing the same piece of music. Oftentimes we don’t even know we’re stuck in a loop until a day or two has passed and we find the furrows in our brow growing ever deeper.
4. Fellowship with Others
God created us for the community. Community is the mutual care and ministry in the body of Christ. We need one another for encouragement and for sharpening.
5. Confession
We would like to be perfect always but always we are not. Confession is the best thing to heal ourselves but we hide our sins.
But God says that if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful to forgive us. And forgiveness is so freeing. He doesn’t treat us as the world does. He is merciful and kind. He leads us to repentance and then his grace changes us.
This Lent, try confessing your sins to the Lord and let his word wash you clean.
6. Surrender
We humble ourselves to God and accept his authority in our lives. In a position of surrender, we accept accountability for how we live.
In surrender, we find our paths made straight, which is counterintuitive to the world’s way of living. When we say “yes” to God, we give him our hopes and dreams; fears and failures and live with a trusting heart.
Sometimes it seems like we surrender our worries every five minutes but wrestling through to surrender brings us peace.