Page 6 - Lenten Meditations 2021 electronic edition

W e e k O n e

Prayer: Most merciful and loving God, Lord of our lives, be with
us as we prepare our hearts and minds for the holiest of seasons.
Help us to know, love, and serve you in all that we do this Lent
and always. Amen
Prayer Focus: People who have no church home.

Contributed by: Mary Tennant

Prayer for Cleansing and Pardon

Scripture: Psalm 51:1-17 (read entire passage)
Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and put a new and right spirit within me.
- Psalm 51:1-2, 10 (NRSV)

Through the years I have made various attempts to focus my
attention on preparing for Easter by observing Lent. At first, I
thought I needed to give up something I enjoyed, like chocolate,
from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday. Then Easter candy
beware! It was a challenge, but I missed the point. The meaning
is not simply to discipline myself to abstain from a favorite thing
or behavior, but to recognize the thing(s) that prevent me from
growing closer to the Lord.
Ash Wednesday and the Lenten observance are the perfect time
for serious reflection on how I am living into the discipleship,
ministry, and service to which the Lord has called me. First, I
must recognize and honestly admit the sin I have in my life and
ask for God’s forgiveness. Next with the Lord’s help, I can make
necessary changes to replace things that come between the Lord
and me with those which I may need to take on to draw closer to
Him.
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