Ash Wednesday marks the start of the season of Lent on the Christian calendar. Lent is the time when believers prepare our hearts for the coming of Easter; it’s the time for reflecting on the sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us when He went to the cross. We can do this in several ways:

• Prayer
• Repentance
• Practice of spiritual disciplines
• Attending services
• Denying ourselves something (such as giving up a favorite food)

Let’s Humble Ourselves

On this first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, we humble ourselves before God. Some faiths remind us of this by placing ashes on their congregants’ foreheads with the words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

In that spirit, we’d like to revisit a post we wrote previously to help you start Lent in a humble, reflective manner. Here is the link to the Ash Wednesday pdf:

Ash Wednesday

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment section below, and we pray you and your loved ones have a blessed start to this season of Lent!

At its simplest, prayer is communicating with God.

Prayer is the language of our hopes, dreams, and ambitions. The Bible teaches that we should pray without ceasing, in good times and bad, when we are tempted, and when we are under attack. While God can do whatever He wants without the help of man, in His wisdom He has decreed that some things will not be accomplished apart from the prayers of man.

The effective fervent prayers of a righteous man availeth much!

We all know we should pray. We all know prayer is important … so why don’t we? Why do we struggle so with prayer instead of in prayer? Because prayer is hard work. Prayer is where our battles are won or lost. Some parts of the Christian life are enjoyable: praise and worship, fellowship, hospitality. Prayer is literally going to war with the enemy. No one likes to go to war. It’s hard. It’s bloody. It’s critical. It’s necessary. It’s our privilege and the payouts are huge.

Our nation is at stake. Our families are at stake. Our children are at stake. Suit up and get your armor on and drop to your knees because the battle must be won.

Please scroll through the Sway below to access the many embedded prayer resources. Remember to leave a comment below and on our Facebook page.

Have a blessed Lent.

Copyright 2016

All rights reserved

Welcome to week 2 of Lent: a season of empty to full.

This week our focus is examen and self-denial—two of our favorite subjects! I know there’s nothing we like better than taking a deep look at ourselves (warts and all) and saying no to our flesh. While these spiritual disciplines may be uncomfortable, they will bring a harvest of good if we allow God to do His necessary work.

Below are the five traditional steps for the discipline of Examen:

• Gratitude: Recall the blessings of the day and thank God.
• Review: Recall the events of the day and notice where you felt God’s presence and where you resisted opportunities to grow in love.
• Sorrow: Recall anything for which you are sorry.
• Forgiveness: Ask for God’s forgiveness and/or healing if needed.
• Grace: Ask God for the grace you need for the next day or for your life in general.

In the Sway, we will provide the information you need to go through the process of examen.

Let’s also stretch our definition of denial beyond the traditional Lenten ideas of sugar and sweets. Consider denying yourself the right to get angry or to get even. What about denying yourself the right to be bitter or unforgiving?

Get ready for the Spirit to dig in to your life while you dig into the many resources included in this week’s Sway. Remember to pray for each other and post your comments on our Facebook page and in the comment section below.

From empty to full.

Have a blessed Lent.

copyright 2016

all rights reserved.

Would you like to approach Easter this year with a heart that is prepared for the Resurrection?

Too often it seems, Lent flies by and before we know it, Holy Week is upon us and we’re rushing to prepare home and heart for Easter. At Only By Prayer, we’re ready to help you more mindfully prepare with our 7-Week Guide, Lent: A Season of Empty to Full and accompanying Facebook page.

Ready to sign up now?

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What Is Empty to Full?

Each week  of  Lent we will identify a theme for that week and email you a multi-media bundle of posts, videos, podcasts, illustrations, and Bible studies that you can use to help prepare your heart. We’ll include a simple guide, just in case you want one, but feel free to do them in any order you choose and at your leisure. If the Spirit leads you to slow down and spend the entire week diving deep into one resource, by all means do that. We will also set up a private Facebook page for just this group to share insights, ask questions, and pray for each other. There is no cost. We simply ask that you sign up in the opt-in form below so that we may email you the resources each week.

Weekly  Topics

• Week 1: Simplicity
• Week 2: Examen
• Week 3: Prayer
• Week 4: Fasting
• Week 5: Study
• Week 6: Service
• Week 7: Celebration

Ready to get started? Simply sign up below. Be sure to reply to the email you should immediately receive  (check your spam or trash if you don’t see it within a few minutes) so that you are added to our list. Your first bundle will arrive on Ash Wednesday, February 10, the first day of Lent. Thereafter, you’ll receive a bundle every Monday. We will also add you to our private Empty to Full Facebook page so that you can participate in the forum with us if you would like to. 

We look forward to the next seven weeks! Thank you for journeying with us.

Sign up here:

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Lent is a time of self-examination and self-denial to prepare for Easter.

It’s natural to want to minimize these difficult days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, but then we would miss the whole purpose of Lent. We need to pause and sit with all the things that happened during Jesus’ last 40 days on earth. And we need to pause and sit with ourselves too. We need to see what should be adopted, eradicated, improved upon, and otherwise changed to make us ready for Easter.

Prayer of Examen

For the remainder of this week of Lent, we will focus on repentance and an ancient practice introduced by St. Ignatius called Examen. Examen is exactly what it sounds like. It is an in-depth prayer that helps us to examine ourselves. In the process we may be able to better discern God’s will, find God in all things, and enhance our understanding of God’s creation. This discipline should be done at the end of the day so that you can analyze how your day went. Don’t let the words discipline and analyze scare you. The process can be completed in as little as 10 minutes if you don’t have much time. Try to do it at least two evenings this week, more often if you are able.

Here is a link that will take you to the short Prayer of Examen tutorial. It’s a simple, yet effective process. If you want to, you can journal your answers to the questions, or you can complete them without pen and paper. Feel free to share any of your thoughts in the comment section below.

Pray on!