Each week during Lent, I will post Lenten prayers. There are some suggested spiritual practices and music links for the week. Beginning with the call to worship, there is a daily prayer liturgy that you can follow on your own or with a group. The basic outline and prayers are the same throughout the week, with a different scripture reading and reflection given for each day.

Scripture readings come primarily from the Lectionary readings for the upcoming Sunday. The reflections are a mixture of things I have written and writings I have found around the internet. Some reflections speak directly to the day’s scripture while others deal more generally with topics brought up by the scripture.

If you would like to participate in an online prayer group on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:00 (Central Time) can join us via the Zoom link on the SpaciousPrayer page.

And finally, you can use the Index to find more Lenten sermons, reflections, and worship material from this blog. It is organized by scripture and, towards the bottom of the page, by liturgical season.

All prayers included here are written by me, unless otherwise noted. You are welcome to use any of this material in your own worship contexts. (Please credit: Rev. Joanna Harader at SpaciousFaith.com.)

Blessings to you on your Lenten journey. ~Joanna

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Suggested Spiritual Practices:

• Here is a calendar for giving up plastic for Lent. The dates are off, but the concepts still work.
• A gifts gratitude calendar for Lent from Laura Stephens-Reed
• A prayer collage activity based on the readings for Ash Wednesday

Music Links

• Abide with Me (hymn)
• Create in Me a Clean Heart (Psalm 51) (worship song)
• Hard to Get (by Rich Mullins)

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Call to Worship: Prayer of Releasing

[Note: You may find it helpful to offer this prayer with your hands open,  palms up. During each time of silence, breathe deeply and think of releasing your burdens to God.]

Holy, holy, holy God
We place ourselves in your presence; we rest in the promise of your grace.

Our minds and our spirits are cluttered with many thoughts and feelings that threaten to pull our attention away from you. Let us unclench our fists and release these things:

We release our regrets. Actions we wish we had not taken. Words we wish we could take back. Opportunities we missed. [Silence]

We release our to-do lists. All the things we should get done that pile on top of each other. [Silence]

We release our anxiety. [Silence]

We release our fear. [Silence]

We release our impatience. [Silence]

We release our pride. [Silence]

All of the thoughts, all of the feelings that pull us away from you, O God, we release. [Silence]

Fill us now with the joy and the peace of your abiding presence.
We offer all of ourselves to you,
our One God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer. Amen

Scripture Readings:

• Wednesday: Isaiah 58:1-12
• Thursday: Luke 4:1-13
• Friday: Romans 10:8b-13
• Saturday: Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Time for silent, written, and/or spoken reflections

Further Reflections

• Wednesday: “Guilt is Good” by Christena Cleveland
• Thursday: Reflection on Luke 4:1-13 by Joanna
• Friday: Considering Viba Perpetua
  • Popular Article: “Accidental Feminist Storytellers” by JMD Meyers
  • Scholarly Article/Review: “Shadow Feminism as Salvation: Perpetua and Queer Negativity” by Julian Forth
• Saturday: Some thoughts on offerings by Joanna

Prayers of Thanksgiving and Intercession:

Offer your own prayers, and conclude with the prayer below.

Generous God who fills the earth with abundance–Oceans and skies full of water, fields that yield food, flowers and birdsong and beauty of all sorts–
May we live with generous hearts, with open hands.

 Humble God who became flesh and entered into our humanity–who touched the untouchable, spoke to the outcasts, washed the disciples’ feet–
May we live with humble hearts, looking always to the needs of others.

 Righteous God who longs for us to be in relationship with you–through sincere prayer, fasting, worship, scripture reading, fellowship–
May we love you with all of our hearts, minds, and souls.

Walk with us on this Lenten journey, Lord. Give us eyes to see the path you would have us take. Give us ears to hear the truth you would speak to us. Give us the wisdom to store our treasure with you, so that our hearts may abide in your perfect peace. Amen.

Closing Quote

I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you
Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre,
The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed
With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness,
I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope
For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love,
For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith
But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.
Wait without thought, for you are not ready for thought:
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.

(From TS Eliot, “East Coker”)

Benediction

Whatever wilderness the Spirit has brought you to:
walk in boldness, as a beloved child of God;
walk in peace, under the shelter of the Most High;
walk in faith, knowing Christ walks with you. Amen.