Lenten Devotional and Prayer
Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. During Lent, Christians focus on restoring their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or draw closer to God in other ways. The Lenten season lasts for forty days, not counting Sundays; it begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. The forty days represent the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry.
Lenten Prayer
Holy God, we come today confessing that we have sinned against you and against our neighbors in thought, word, and deed. We have sinned by what we have done and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with all our heart, mind and strength. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have not forgiven others as we have been forgiven. We come acknowledging that you created us from dust, and to dust we shall return. Have mercy on us.
Give us strength to struggle against everything that leads us away from the love of God and neighbor. Forgive us for turning a blind eye to human suffering and injustice. Pardon us for our pollution of your creation and for our waste of its resources.
Accept our repentance as we draw closer to God through our acts of fasting, prayer, and devotion. Give us strength to persevere in our Lenten journey to the Cross.
In your Holy Name we pray. Amen.