Preparing for Lent: An Exercise

Shawn Duncan prepared the following exercise for the NL youth group.  I think it has great value for a broad audience:

Preparing for Lent

A guide to help you decide what practices would be most beneficial for you to engage in so that this Lent can be a truly meaningful and transformation season.


Prayer Time:
Begin by setting aside some time to be quiet and undistracted.  This process should not take more than a half hour, but it would be most beneficial if you were not be interrupted.

Once alone and quieted within, pray these prayers carefully.  Do not simply speak the words and move on.  Pray them in such a way that they settle within you and serve as catalysts for further reflection and prayer.


“Search me, O God, and know my heart
  test me and know my anxious thoughts
See if there is any offensive way in me,
  and lead me in the way everlasting.”
~Psalm 132:23-24


“Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in me a new and contrite heart, that I, worthily lamenting my sins and acknowledging my wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ my Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.  Amen” (The Book of Common Prayer, 1979)

You would also profit from a prayer through Psalm 51.


Thoughtful Examination
If you haven’t already done this, take out a journal, a notebook, or just some loose paper.   In written form, prayerfully reflect on the following questions as a guide for self-examination.  Be open to the Spirit.  Allow the difficult, painful process of examination to happen.  After working through this, formulate a realistic plan that is appropriately challenging for where you are in your spiritual life.


Distractions: What am I doing with my time, energies, talents, and money that is distracting me from a God whose “glory fills the earth” (Isa 6)?  What relationships, hobbies, uses of time are creating too much noise to hear the “still, small whisper” of God (1 Kings 19)?  Do I need to get rid of these things or learn how to use them in a healthy way?  If the latter is true, what does that look like?


Desires: What desires of the flesh (wealth, acceptance, pride, success, beauty, pleasure, the affection of the opposite sex, control over my future etc.) have become more important to me than knowing Jesus and following Him?

Distance: What relationships, attitudes, activities, possessions, etc. are creating distance between me and God?  What are the places in my weekly routines (home, work, school, with friends, etc.) where I feel that God is most absent from my heart and mind?  How can these areas, along with all my life, become more open to a God who is present and working in all places at all times?

Devotion: What simple, yet deliberate and disciplined, routine of devotions can I keep over Lent to empty out the clutter and invite God’s to reign in my life?  Remember that fasting, repentance, giving to those in need, set times of prayer, regular worship are the most common, but not comprehensive, list of practices the church engages in during Lent.


From the Book of Common Prayer, 1979
“I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word.  And, to make a right beginning of repentance, and as a mark of our mortal nature, let us now kneel before the Lord, our maker and redeemer.”



Finding a spiritual friend or mentor to walk with you through these decisions and through the season would be even more enriching.  Regular conversation about the practices and how God is shaping your life through them could certainly deepen this for you.