I have included a Jimbob story about Lent from two years ago.
3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes. Daniel 9:3
Let’s break this verse down so we can engage our hearts with it.
- I – that’s me…not my brother, sister, pastor, spouse, children, or anyone else. Some things only I can do
- Turned – I can’t keep going in the direction I have been going and say that I am turning. Something different has to happen. Physical, mental, and spiritual shifts need to occur for me to turn.
- To the Lord God – He is a person to whom I can talk. This is an encounter, a dialogue, a meeting…not talking about someone over there. I am talking with the God who created the universe…He invites me to come.
- Pleaded – this word anticipates urgency. Pleading becomes singular in focus. It’s not part of a conversation…it is the whole subject. It may take some time, but that’s okay because you are pleading with what is essential to your heart.
- Prayer and petition – verbally lay out your thoughts on the table. Let God know what you have been thinking and hoping to change in your life.
- Fasting – abstaining from something on purpose for a specified period of time.
- IN sackcloth and ashes. Sometimes we position ourselves to remind us of purpose. We raise our hand in surrender and in victory. We sit to contemplate. We lay prostrate on the ground to remember our humility before God. We kneel to remember His Lordship over our lives in which we have confessed we entirely belong to Him.
Today is Ash Wednesday, and begins the season of Lent. Preparation for Easter Sunday is valuable for you and the many who still need to know the good news of Jesus.
Blessings Love y’all