Next Steps: How To Practice Lent
Lent is compromised of three categories.
Fasting
Prayer
Alms giving (giving to those in need)
Let's briefly explore these three categories.
#1: Fasting
Fasting always pertains primarily to food. There's a difference between abstinence and fasting. Abstinence can include not using social media or limiting consumption of television.
Options for fasting during Lent
No meat for all 40 days or just certain days
No meat or diary products for all 40 days or just certain days
No deserts, sweet drinks, alcohol, chocolate for all 40 days
No food at all for 24 hours during Lent for one day per week
One meal for 7 days in a row
As you can see, there are various options for fasting. Now, here are some ideas for abstinence:
Ideas for abstinence
No social media or YouTube
No listening to secular music
No selfies during Lent
Taking showers with lukewarm water
Less makeup or not getting your nails done
Having family devotions once a week
Reading more scripture
Staying off the internet for certain periods of the day
Reading a devotional book during Lent (Classics like: Pursuit of God by Tozer, Cost of Discipleship by Bonhoeffer or Confessions by Augustine)
Giving up complaining or negative talk for the duration of Lent
#2: Prayer
Remember, Lent is, in part, a call to deepen our prayer life. Below are some suggestions:
Ideas for incorporating prayer during Lent:
Pray for the Lords prayer three times a day (morning, lunch and evening)
Writing your own detailed personal prayer to God and pray that prayer everyday. Ask the Holy Spirit: What is a prayer list for my life for the next 40 days? Then after writing this personal prayer, pray it daily.
Ask your friends or family if they have any prayer needs and pray for them daily during Lent.
If you have the gift, speak in tongues for 5 or 10 minutes on a daily basis everyday for 40 days.
Memorise scripture. A good suggestion for Lent is to memorise a penitential psalm (E.g Psalm 6, 32, 38, 51). Penitential refers to something relating to repentance or expressing sorrow for sin. In the context of Lent, penitential psalms are prayers written as personal confessions to God, expressing remorse and seeking forgiveness.
This list isn't exhaustive, but it should give you ideas on how to deepen your prayer life during this season.
Here’s the thing: Fasting and prayer go together. If you’re fasting, you should be praying also.
#3: Alms Giving
Alms giving is primarily about helping those in need in various ways.
Some ideas for Alms Giving
Pay for someone else’s coffee (even someone you don’t know)
Give anonymously to someone in financial need at church or in your community
Volunteer at a foodbank or soup kitchen
Be intentional generous toward someone struggling at work.
Donate used clothes or household items to a local charity
Visit someone who is elderly, sick, or lonely and spend quality time with them
Prepare a meal for a family going through a difficult time
Send an encouraging note or care package to someone going through a challenging season
Buy essential items for a homeless person (toiletries, socks, food)
Invite someone who might be alone to share a meal with you and your family
A few final points to consider
Keep the spirit of the fast. Don't become legalistic about your Lenten commitments. If you miss a day of fasting or prayer, don't be discouraged—simply start again the next day. Remember, these are self-imposed disciplines meant to draw you closer to God, not burdens to weigh you down.
Choose wisely based on your circumstances. Consider your age, health, work demands, and personal temperament when deciding what to fast from or abstain from. Not everyone can handle the same commitments. For example, some people struggle significantly without food—it's better to eat than to be irritable all the time! Be honest with yourself about what will actually help you grow spiritually.
Focus on your own journey. Don't judge other people's Lenten choices. Your responsibility is to examine your own heart before God, not to play "Lent police" with others. What matters is your personal walk with Christ, not comparing your commitments to someone else's.
Write down your goals. This is important—put your Lenten commitments in writing. Writing them down helps clarify your intentions and gives you something concrete to refer back to throughout the season.
Summary
This Lent, we're inviting you to participate in a 40-day journey of spiritual growth and deepening faith. Beginning on Ash Wednesday (February 18th), this discipleship challenge centres on three key practices: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving.
Why observe Lent? Because Scripture calls us to seasons of prayer and fasting, because spiritual maturity requires self-discipline, because we're connected to centuries of Church history, because our love for God compels us to fight against spiritual complacency, and because Lent makes Easter even more meaningful and Christ-centred.
How to practice Lent: Choose commitments from the three pillars—fasting (from food or other things), prayer (deepening your relationship with God), and almsgiving (serving those in need). Remember to keep the spirit of grace, choose wisely based on your circumstances, focus on your own journey, and write down your goals.
This season is an opportunity to turn toward God with intentionality, to grow in spiritual maturity, and to prepare our hearts for the celebration of Easter. We're not pursuing legalism but genuine transformation through self-imposed discipline that draws us closer to Christ.
Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this ‘Introduction to Lent’.
We're excited to walk through these 40 days together as a church family. May this Lent be a time of genuine spiritual growth, deeper prayer, and greater love for Christ and others.
Grace and peace to you as you begin this journey
