What is Lent & How Can You Observe It?

What is lent? How do you participate? What can you do? What can’t you do? Why observe Lent? I posted about Lent on Instagram, and I got SO many questions about it. It was so fascinating to read and hear and create a space for people to talk about Lent. I really had no idea that people didn’t know about Lent, and it made me so excited to share about a rhythm of the church calendar that has greatly impacted my life. God wants to draw us into deeper intimacy with Him, and this is the perfect season to try it out!

Lent is a 40-day season in the Christian church calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and leads up to Easter Sunday. The month of December is the season of Advent when you prepare your heart leading up to Christmas to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Lent is more of a solemn time of reflection as you draw near to Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection. It is a time of prayer, fasting, repentance, reflection, and preparing your heart for the resurrection of Jesus. Lent helps you slow down, examine your heart, and remember your need for a Savior and the sacrifice of Christ.

I do want to preface this post with saying that I am no Lent expert. I have not gone to seminary or anything like that. Take what I say and take it to the Lord. Ask Him if what I am saying is true and what you should learn from this and how and if you should observe Lent this year.

How do you count the 40 days of Lent? Lent lasts 40 days, but the counting can be confusing. It begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday (the day before Easter). The 40 days do not include Sundays. Sundays are considered “mini celebrations” of the resurrection, so they are not counted as fasting days. Ash Wednesday → Holy Saturday, Minus the 6 Sundays = 40 days. Lent starts and ends on a different day each year. It can start as early as February 4 or as late as March 11.

Why is the number 40 significant in the Bible? The number 40 often represents testing, preparation, & transformation.

Examples:

• It rained 40 days and 40 nights during the flood (Genesis 7:12)

• Moses was on Mount Sinai 40 days (Exodus 34:28)

• The Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness (Numbers 14:33–34)

• Elijah fasted 40 days (1 Kings 19:8)

• Jesus fasted 40 days in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–2)

In the Bible, 40 is often a season that prepares God’s people for something new.

What can I do during the season of Lent? Many people fast from something during the 40 days of Lent like candy, alcohol, watching TV, social media, etc. Many people add something to their rhythm and routine for the season of Lent like more time studying God’s Word, praying, and serving others. The point is for it to be a sacrifice, like what Jesus did when He died on the cross to save you from your sins. It’s also not just a diet. You want to use the time you would spend doing that certain thing and instead use it to spend time with God in prayer and reading His Word. Lent is about making space. When you remove distractions, you create room. When you add spiritual rhythms, you fill that space with something life-giving.

Is Lent only for Catholics or Lutherans or certain denominations in the church to practice? While Lent has historically been observed in Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican, Methodist, and Orthodox traditions, any Christian can choose to observe Lent as a season of reflection and preparation for Easter. It is not about a specific denomination. It is about drawing closer to God. Lent is not commanded in the Bible as a required practice. It is a tradition developed in the early Church to help believers prepare their hearts for Easter. Observing Lent is not a requirement for Salvation.

Lent Reflection & Journaling Questions:

• How can I create more intentional space for prayer and Bible study over the next 40 days?

• What spiritual habit do I want to grow in?

• What is distracting me from God right now?

• What might God be inviting me to surrender this season?

• Where do I need repentance or renewal?

• What would it look like to “return to the Lord” with my whole heart?

• What key Bible verse is God wanting me to focus on during the season of Lent and memorize?

Bible Verses for Lent:

• “I call on you, my God, for you will answer me...” (Psalm 17:6)

• “Return to me with all your heart…” (Joel 2:12–13)

• “Create in me a clean heart, O God…” (Psalm 51:10)

• Jesus fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–2)

• “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen…” (Isaiah 58:6)

• “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8)

I grew up in, and still work at and attend, a Lutheran church where many observe the season of Lent.  I remember growing up trying to not eat certain foods for the forty days, often sweet things.  I would frequently fail, though, and feel so bad for not making it all forty days without doing or eating whatever item I had “picked” for the year.  In college I remember I had picked chocolate to give up for the forty days, but then my mom sent me a St. Patrick’s Day care package with a little chocolate leprechaun inside.  I totally forgot about giving up chocolate and scarfed him down.  Several hours later I remembered my mistake and how I had given up chocolate.  There was so much shame and guilt.  I thought about how I “blew it” and then stopped trying for the rest of Lent.  Looking back, I realize how surface-level I was observing Lent.  But I also now recognize that as we grow closer to God, our faith deepens.  

May God use these next 40 days to draw you closer to Him!