In 40 Days, 40 Prayers, 40 Words, Reyes-Chow encourages readers to pause in the bustle of their daily lives to reflect, engage, and share during the Lenten season. Forty devotions are each framed around a word inspired by the daily lectionary readings and include a short scriptural passage, inspirational prayer, and reflection. Readers who feel too busy for daily engagement with God will appreciate Reyes-Chow's ability to speak to the blessings and burdens of everyday life in a concise, lively manner. Moreover, readers also have the ability to connect with others through interactive elements like QR codes that link to social media and provide access to additional reflections, graphics, and prayers. This unique resource expands the ways we can connect with God, and with each other, both during Lent and at any time along our journeys of faith. Follow along using the hashtag: #40wordprayer.
For use in Churches, small groups, and for your own devotional time, 40 Prayers for Advent provides simple, accessible prayers for use during the Advent season. Adapted from the popular 500 Prayers series and written in everyday language, this book is the perfect resource to help mark one of the most important seasons in the Christian calendar.
If you're looking for a new Lenten experience, here are forty fresh ideas. Some will challenge you to deepen your prayer life; others will open your mind to new ways to serve others. Each of the forty ways includes a reflection to help you understand more about Lent and why it matters. You'll learn how to have a more creative experience of Lent. You'll discover positive, proactive ways to take action instead of the same old routine of giving something up. The result will be spiritual transformation and a closer walk with Christ—not only during Lent but throughout the year.
You want to read your Bible. You know it’s important. And yet, between the constant demands of work and home and the intimidation you feel when trying to read Scripture, you give up. Don’t let an overflowing schedule and a lack of confidence rob you of the peace, joy, and purpose God offers you. In Fall in Love with God’s Word, Brittany Ann takes a “how to” approach to help you: Overcome seven common obstacles preventing you from spending time in Scripture Determine the personalized Bible-reading outline that works best for you Learn fifteen easy ways to make Bible reading more meaningful and enjoyable Use Scripture to conquer sin, false beliefs, and negative thought patterns Experience fresh spiritual growth and passion for God’s Word
Based on the popular spiritual healing program designed by Bob Schuchts and the John Paul II Healing Center, Lenten Healing offers a twist to traditional Lenten fasting: instead of giving up chocolate, give up your sin. This daily Lenten devotional offers a unique approach to fasting, helping you reexamine the psychological and spiritual roots of sin in your life while sharing reflections and prayer exercises for overcoming sinful habits and acquiring virtuous ones. Lent is the ideal time to identify and address "spiritual blind spots"—unacknowledged emotional wounds and false ideas that hinder your prayer life and worship. During each week of Lent, Ken Kniepmann of the John Paul II Healing Center breaks open one of the seven deadly sins (pride, lust, gluttony, sloth, anger, envy, and greed) and its corresponding virtue (humility, chastity, abstinence, diligence, patience, kindness, and liberality). You'll start by learning about the sin and how it manifests itself in daily life and thought patterns. Then you'll move into reflection and prayer exercises that guide you through the process of renouncing that week's sin and resolving to adopt that week's virtue. Fasting, the practice of giving up pleasures or comforts, allows us to grow in holiness by putting our desires to a kind of death. Obvious examples include giving up a habit such as a favorite food, sleeping in, or late-night TV—but what happens when you try to give up your sins while recognizing the deeper reasons you commit them in the first place? By seeing those connections and praying specifically for God's insight, healing, and revelation, you’ll be able to experience God’s mercy and love to a greater capacity. Kniepmann helps you see how the depth of Catholic teaching is connected to your daily life. Sin isn't just an activity; it is a place of the heart (the interior life) and the movement of the heart (toward or away from sin) as related to thoughts, beliefs, and emotions. By the time Easter arrives, you'll possess a deeper understanding of sin and emotional wounds as impediments to intimacy with God and come away with tangible, practical tools for addressing those impediments in your life.
Sometimes a pause is good for the soul. It gives us the chance to regroup, reflect, and refocus on God. In Pauses for Lent, Trevor Hudson offers a beautifully minimalist book in which he focuses on one word for each day of Lent. You are invited to pause, focus on the word, read a scripture and a brief meditation related to the word, and then offer a prayer. Pausing in this way will help you carve out time for God and refresh your spirit even in the midst of a busy life. You may find yourself sensing God's presence in a new way and discovering that God wants to meet you in the midst of your life as it is, muddles and all.
What if you fasted regret? What if your friends fasted comparison? What if your generation fasted escapism? What if your community fasted spectatorship? Trigger a spiritual revolution with this daily devotional for Lent. Decrease life's unnecessary details and increase your relationship with the Lord so you can live in awe of Christ's resurrection! 40 Days of Decrease is a guide for those hungering for a fresh Lenten/Easter experience. Dr. Alicia Britt Chole guides you through a study of Jesus’ uncommon and uncomfortable call to abandon the world’s illusions, embrace His kingdom’s realities, and journey cross-ward and beyond. Containing readings, refection questions, daily fasts, ancient quotes, and more, each day offers a meaningful consideration of Jesus’ journey and then invites you into a daily fast of heart-clutter—the stuff that sticks to your soul and weighs you down. You can begin your forty-day journey any time of the year, but you may find it especially meaningful as a Lenten preparation to live in awe of Jesus’ resurrection. Each daily, 1000-word entry includes a: Devotion based on Jesus’ life Reflection question to guide journaling or group discussion Heart fast to inspire a tangible response Thought-provoking Lenten quote Optional sidebar into the historical development of Lent Suggested reading that takes you from John 12 to John 21 Journaling space for reflection In the same way self cannot satisfy self no matter how long it feasts, self cannot starve self no matter how long it fasts. Decrease—like increase—is only holy when its destination is love. Dare to live awed by Christ’s resurrection!
Lent recalls times of wilderness and wandering, from newly freed Hebrew slaves in exile to Jesus' temptation in the desert. God has always called people out of their safe, walled cities into uncomfortable places, revealing paths they would never have chosen. Despite our culture of self-indulgence, we too are called to walk an alternative pathâ€"one of humility, justice, and peace. Walter Brueggemann's thought-provoking reflections for the season of Lent invite us to consider the challenging, beautiful life that comes with walking the way of grace.
Pray. Act. Pray Again. presents personalized versions of familiar prayers from scripture with commentary on how these prayers can motivate action in the life of believer. It contains 40 prayers found in Psalms, the Gospels, and the Epistles, all changed to the first person. They will help the believer respond personally to God's call to prayer. The 40 prayers are to be used Monday through Saturday during Lent. There is a special Sabbath prayer based on the 23rd Psalm to be used every Sunday. Each prayer has a brief commentary to provide context for the prayer, as well as for the actions that might result from the prayer. Pray. Act. Pray Again. is designed to be a private Lenten devotional book but can also contains lessons for a group prayer study during the seven weeks of Lent. About the Authors: The Reverend Kathleene Card is an Elder in the United Methodist Church. She is serving as Associate Pastor at A & M UMC in College Station, Texas on loan from the Virginia Conference. Kathleene has worked as both a teacher and an administrator in the federal government. However, whether she was teaching English or managing a staff, Kathleene's love of God and God's people has always been the driving force in her life. Dr. Dianne Martin is a computer science professor emerita and vice provost at George Washington University. She has been in the computer field for over 40 years and was a programmer on the Apollo mission to put men on the moon. Dianne's desire is to make Christ the top priority of her life. Author's website: http: //www.prayactprayagain.org Authors and Bible photo by: Rachel Kahler Publisher's website: http: //SBPRA.com/KathleeneCardandDianneMartin
