Preparing Your Heart for Lent

How are you preparing your heart for Lent? Today, I have some encouragement to help you prepare your heart for the Lenten season.

Preparing Our Hearts for Lent

Maybe you grew up observing Lent, or maybe you didn’t. Either way, you can observe Lent this year and grow deeper in your faith.

Great are the works of the Lord;
they are pondered by all who delight in them.
Psalm 111:2 NIV

Lent is a time for pondering. It’s a time to turn inward a bit and examine yourself. It’s a season of contemplation, confession, repentance and spiritual growth. Lent can be one of the best times of the year to grow your faith by getting back to the basics.

I grew up Lutheran, and we observed Lent with midweek services. These services were fairly solemn and focused on the sacrifices Jesus made for us. I developed a high reverence for God through these services, and I especially enjoyed the somber, contemplative Lenten hymns.

When Maundy Thursday came, I loved feeling as if I was participating in the original Last Supper. The Good Friday service was one of my favorites of the whole year. The pastors stripped the altar, piece by piece, while reading the crucifixion account. This stripping symbolized Jesus’ death, especially as it ended in near darkness, and we walked out in virtual silence. I appreciated these visual reminders of Holy Week.

A somber, contemplative six weeks of Lenten observance always made me appreciate the joy of Easter Sunday even more. The unfolding parade of spring flowers, week by week, also made a symbolic contrast to February’s snow and the storms of March. Observing Lent made my faith feel more alive, and it’s one of my favorite seasons of the church year.

Perhaps you don’t have this deep of a connection with Lent. Maybe it’s been a series of empty rituals for you, or perhaps it was never discussed at all. But, this year we can engage with Lent through the timeless spiritual disciplines, and be even stronger in faith come Easter Monday.

Preparing for Lent This Year

To engage your faith during the Lenten season this year, choose one (or more) of the spiritual disciplines for your focus. I’m listing the spiritual disciplines Richard Foster includes in his excellent book, The Celebration of Discipline, for you to consider:

Inward disciplines: meditation, fasting, prayer and study
Outward disciplines: simplicity, solitude, submission and service
Corporate disciplines: confession, worship, guidance and celebration

In my opinion, Lent is the best time to develop the inward disciplines. But if these disciplines are a breeze for you, it may be better to focus on outward or corporate disciplines to stretch yourself. You may need to get creative with the corporate disciplines, and with service, in the pandemic, but they can still be done. Ask God to lead you in your decision of which disciplines will grow your faith most in this time of your life.

To engage with Lent more intentionally, I’ve prepared several resources for you. Find them all on this page, and I pray they will help you ponder God’s works with greater delight.

Each Tuesday of Lent, I’ll be emailing you more Tea on Tuesday devotions to strengthen your faith through the spiritual disciplines. You can look forward to six more emails on this topic in the coming weeks. Sign up below to receive them first!

I hope this post has inspired you to prepare your heart for Lent. How has it helped you today? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

Rewards for donations of any amount!

Did you know? I spend over $200.00 per month on all the expenses relating to my ministry. If you are willing to donate to help offset these expenses, I’ll reward you with an exclusive monthly video teaching and printable. Please donate HERE if you received value from my content today. I’ll add you to the list to receive the exclusive rewards this month for your donation of any amount. Thank you!

Preparing Your Heart for Lent: Practical tips to help you engage your faith in this season. #lent #spiritualgrowth #christianliving Click To Tweet