Lent Guide | Week 4
Theme: Sustain
What sustains you? Not just the food filling your body or breath in your lungs; what, beneath the surface, tells you, “all may not be well, and all will be made new.”
This point in the Lenten season can give way to the throws of Spring, planning, and life on our own terms. May this serve as a reminder to still yourself before God, sit with the discomfort, and practice the presence of Jesus.
How to use this guide?
Each week offers a guiding theme for prayer for you to put into practice through daily movements of prayer and reflection (presence, formation, renewal, gratitude).
-
Jesus, may your words lead me to rest. May your warming light thaw the deep winter freeze? Sustain me with your presence, Jesus!
-
What might Spirit desire to teach you? How is Jesus moving around you? Where is creation calling your attention to the good God revealed in Jesus?
(As you attend to each day’s scripture, consider: Where is Jesus today?)
-
Do you notice yourself reacting as you pray? Do you feel challenged, comforted, angry? Imagine Jesus sitting or standing by you, speak out my feelings, as one trusted friend to another.
(Consider journaling what you notice. Images. Memories. Etc.)
-
I thank you, Jesus. You sustain me in love.
-
Sunday, March 20th, 2022 - Psalm 63:1-8
There can be encouragement - a deep heartening - with Jesus when we open ourselves to God’s living word. Allow the words of the Psalm to refresh your heart in the mundane moments - “For you have been my help….”
Monday, March 21st, 2022 - Luke 9:57-62
The sharp edges of God’s call in Christ cut against surface comfort. Where does Jesus’ call to discipleship feel harsh? What reasons do you quickly manufacture to stay well within comfort’s bounds? Ask Spirit to reveal & remind you of God’s gentle heart.
Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022 - Luke 10:25–37
Assume this is your first time reading this story. Imagine yourself walking on the roadside only to be laid hold of, beaten, and left for dead. With inaudible screams leeching out, what would approaching footsteps mean for you? Hope? Rescue? Now, what if those steps step on? Allow the story to play out. Imagine the “people you loathe” coming to your rescue and consider, “Who belongs to God’s Kingdom?”
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2022 - Luke 11:1–8
Do you know to whom you bring your requests? Could it be that we take for granted access into the King’s chamber? May the shape of the Lord’s prayer help humility terraform our hearts so we might flower into children of our Father in Heaven.
(Find a time to pray the Lord’s prayer slowly today. Linger with the one to whom you come.)
Thursday, March 24th, 2022 - Luke 11:33–36
Consider tracking your sight this day (or the next). Take a few moments and write down what you looked at most. If a screen, what images lay before you? If you’re willing, consider how these images, Jesus, and your life with him. Do they draw you to magnify the light or dampen it?
(Lent invites us to release our gaze on the world and fix our eyes on Jesus, the one who fulfills the love of God on a cross. Take a moment to imagine Jesus.)
Friday, March 25th, 2022 - Luke 12:22–32
What is happening out your window? Look for the thing that was not crafted with human hands and allow it to tell you its story. You get to reveal God’s story in his creation. What is he inviting you to say?
Saturday, March 26th, 2022 - Luke 15:1–3, 11b–32
Where do you see yourself in this story? If Jesus were to look longingly at you, welcoming you to the party, where is your heart? Can you join the joy?
A prayer: Jesus, may your joy invite me? May you sustain me?