Day One of Lent—Ash Wednesday, Prayer and Fasting
Matthew 6:6-15 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:16-18 16 “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 17 But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, 18 that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Today marks the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday, where we pray and fast for 40 days. This 40 day period is to remember Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness where He prepared for His earthly
ministry through intensive prayer, doing without food and water, and resisting the enemy.
During the next 46 days, liturgical churches often observe the Lenten season by choosing a particular item to do without. It is most often a food or drink from which to abstain, but many choose to eliminate social media or some other form of entertainment. Sundays are considered “mini-Easters” and therefore exempt from sacrifice.
As we forego our sacrificial item, we replace it with prayer, seeking both repentance and a closer relationship with Jesus. If we fail to enter into self-reflection, asking God to reveal areas in our lives that need transformation, then observing Lent is just a religious exercise with no lasting benefit.
Today’s scripture offers instruction on how to pray and how to fast. If the Son of God practiced prayer and fasting, why do we think we can do without this element of our faith?
Along with prayer and fasting, Lenten observation begins with the application of ashes in the shape of a cross to the forehead. The ashes come from the previous year’s palm leaves used for Palm Sunday. When mixed with olive oil it is applied to the believer’s forehead accompanied by the words, “From ashes you came to ashes you will return, repent and believe the gospel.”
May we take the days leading to Easter to reflect, repent, and draw closer to the One who died so that we might live.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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