These resources were created for Lent 2022 – with the aim to use the 7 weeks to Make Space and refocus on Jesus. Each week we used a particular psalm as a focus for reading and had a suggested practice to help structure our time, habits and thoughts in a way to help us turn our eyes upon him more throughout our days.
You could choose to use these over your own chosen 7 week period, or condense them into a week.
Bible Reading: Psalm 20
Suggested Practice: Intentional Prayer – Praying at Set Intervals in the Day
Framing the day in prayer gets you praying instead of always talking about praying or wishing you were a person who prayed. It also helps to structure your day and to pray through it rather than passively going through it.
The world is made of words. Even small repeated words have power. Regular, carefully placed prayer is one of the keystones habits of spiritual formation.
Try to make it a habit to pray three times in a day – in the morning bring the day before God, at lunch pause to pray for someone or a situation today. In the evening finish the day by offering it to God.
Bible Reading: Psalm 23
Suggested Practice: Hospitality – Eat a Meal with Others
We were made to eat, so the table must be our centre of gravity. The habit of making time for one communal meal each day forces us to reorient our schedules and our space around food and each other. This week try and have an intentional, communal meal with others.
Bible Reading: Psalm 51
Suggested Practice: Priorities – Scripture Before Phone
Before you use your phone today, read Scripture. Refusing to check the phone until after reading a passage of Scripture is a way of replacing the question ‘ what do I need to do today? With a better one, ‘Who am I and who I am becoming.’ It also helps to form the regular discipline of reading scripture daily. It can be so tempting to turn to our phones but try and pick up your bible first to read Scripture for the day and set your heart right before God.
Bible Reading: Psalm 139
Suggested Practice: Connection – Have a 1-hour conversation with a friend
We were made for each other and cannot love God and our neighbour without relationships where we can share vulnerably. This week create space to have an intentional one-on-one conversation with someone, share about how you are doing in your lives and encourage one another in pursuing Jesus together.
Bible Reading: Psalm 84
Suggested Practice: Simplicity – Curate time on media
Try to limit the time you spend on media – whether social media, or watching things. By limiting our time on social media it helps us to curate the stories we listen to in order to seek stories that uphold beauty, teach us to love justice and to love God and our neighbour more. Try and reflect about how much time you spend on them and make space to lay that aside to spend time loving God and loving others.
Bible Reading: Psalm 148
Suggested Practice: Sabbath – Take time to rest with God
The weekly practice of Sabbath teaches us that God sustains the world and that we don’t. Sabbath helps us to acknowledge and embrace our own limitations, we stop our usual work for one day of rest. Sabbath is a gospel practice because it reminds us that the world doesn’t hang on what we can accomplish, but rather on what God has accomplished for us. This week try and take a Sabbath day pausing from your regular work to spend time with God.
Bible Reading: Psalm 121
Suggested Practice: Fasting – Fast from something for 24 hours
We constantly seek to full our emputness with food and other comforts. Regular fasting exposes who we really are, reminds us how broken the world is, and draws our eyes to how Jesus is redeeming all things
DAILY
If you’re looking for material to engage with daily why not try the Lectio 365 daily devotions app, from 24-7 Prayer?
