About a decade ago I put together a 40 day devotional for Lent. The devotional invites you to read 40 different Psalms from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. I give a few comments about each Psalm and then some ideas for prayer. I decided it was time to edit some of the devotions and so I am going to add each day of the devotional to the blog in case you need something to guide your time this year. Here is the cover letter with a brief introduction to Lent and the devotional.
God’s Prayerbook
Forty Psalms in Forty Days
A Lenten Devotional
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the center of our faith. As we say in the Nicene Creed, these events were “for us and for our salvation.” In preparation for celebrating the life giving death and resurrection of Christ, the Church has carved out 40 days of preparation, commonly known as Lent. Lent, comes from a Latin word that simply means “Spring.” But, Lent has for centuries been used by followers of Jesus as a time to reflect, pray, fast and prepare. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and then continues through the Saturday before Easter. The six Sundays of Lent are not considered part of the 40 day observance; they are to be six mini-Easters – reminders that even during this time of preparation we already know that God has defeated death through Christ’s resurrection.
The Psalms are known as God’s prayer-book. The Psalms are prayers and hymns written by God’s people to God and inspired by His Spirit to be included in Holy Scripture. It has been said that every human emotion has been included in the Psalms as prayer. The Psalms demonstrate how God wants all of you, all of your fears, sorrow, pain, confusion, disappointment and all of your joy, success, and triumphs. The Psalms contain them all and teach us how to take our emotions before God.
This devotional contains reflections on 40 Psalms, one for each day of Lent, continuing the tradition of skipping the Sundays of Lent as mini-Easters. The format is simple. At the top of each page there is a Psalm. Grab a Bible and read through the Psalm at least two times. Then, each devotional attempts to highlight some of the beauty and genius of these prayers. At the end of the devotional there are suggestions for your own prayer time each day. We don’t read and study the Psalms like one of Paul’s letters, dissecting all the arguments. Instead, we pray the Psalms.
May the Lord be with you as you do.
Comments