Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent, a time for penitence for many Christians. Believers who attend liturgical churches often give up something for Lent and use the time and/or money saved for worship and giving.
As usual, I will post a Scripture reading and prayer for every day of Lent. Traditionally, I follow a Lenten Bible reading plan and record the daily Scripture and a prayer in my journal. The posts on my blog each Lent are my journal entries from the previous year. I invite you to join me in reading the Bible verses and praying—my prayer, your own, or both.
Some readers may want to add more devotion to their Lenten schedule. Perhaps something of my daily devotions will be useful for you. My plan is an adaptation of How to Have a Meaningful Time with God, provided by my church, All Saints Anglican Church of San Antonio.
- I begin with a short quiet and prayer time to put me in a reverent mood.
- I journal whatever I’m feeling or thinking about that day and post a prayer related to the things that have my attention at that time.
- I pray for the people and needs on my personal prayer list.
- I listen to Evening Prayer from the Cradle of Prayer and follow along on the CommonPrayer.org website.
- I read the Scripture from the Bible reading plan I am following (this year I am reading the American Standard Bible).
- I write something in my journal about the Scripture I read—what it was about or how it impacted me—as well as a prayer based on the reading.
Cradle of Prayer offers Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer every day—with a priest conducting the service and a cantor singing the canticles and giving the responses. The CommonPrayer.org site includes all the services, including daily readings, from the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. You can use either one alone, but I enjoy listening to Cradle of Prayer and reading along on the Common Prayer site and joining in the responses.Because of my caregiving responsibilities, I don’t have a regular time of day for my devotions—usually in the wee hours of the morning after I’ve finished work and when no one else is awake.
Though the Prayer Book services are Anglican, I think any Christian who is comfortable with traditional liturgy and orthodox beliefs will find they can worship in spirit and in truth in these services.
Do you have a daily devotional plan and/or a special Lenten devotional plan?
