Welcome - 40 Days of Prayer

The season of Lent is a forty-day journey that prepares our hearts and lives for Easter. It is a journey dedicated to slowing down, paying attention, and returning to God with renewed focus. For centuries, followers of Jesus have used these days to pray more intentionally, to repent honestly, and to realign their lives with the love of Jesus. Just as Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness before beginning His public ministry, we step into our own wilderness—a place of reflection, surrender, and deepening trust in the God who knows us and sees us.

Lent invites us to examine what fills our lives and gently ask, is this drawing me closer to God or distracting me from Him? It isn’t meant to be heavy or guilt-driven, but hopeful. This is a season of grace for us. We make room by releasing distractions, confessing sin, and creating space for God to speak to us. We fast from the things that bring us comfort so we can hunger for what truly satisfies. We pray so we can hear the still, small voice of our heavenly Father who loves us and calls us His own. We give so our hearts become freer and more like Jesus.

We’ve created this forty-day prayer guide to equip you for the journey through Lent.

Each day’s Scripture, reflection, and prayer is designed to help you walk faithfully toward Easter with intention. Rather than rushing from one busy week to the next, this guide offers a daily rhythm—time to pause, listen, and respond. Day by day, God shapes us. Small, faithful moments of prayer soften our hearts, clarify our priorities, and deepen our dependence on Him. The Word of God roots us in His promises. Over time, these practices form us spiritually, preparing us not just to celebrate Easter, but to experience it.

Think of these forty days as training for your soul. As you pray, you may notice God bringing healing to old wounds, conviction where change is needed, or fresh joy in His presence. You may discover new gratitude, courage, or compassion. Lent prepares us by clearing away what dulls our faith so that we can more fully receive the life Jesus offers us through His death and resurrection.

By the time Easter arrives, we don’t simply remember the story—we’re prepared for it – spiritually, mentally, relationally, and emotionally. Our hearts have walked the road to the cross. Our prayers have created space for resurrection hope. The celebration becomes deeper because the preparation has been intentional.

Let us enter this season together with openness to the Holy Spirit. Give God your attention each day. Trust that He will meet you in this journey. And allow these forty days of prayer and Bible engagement to lead you into a fuller experience of the joy, freedom, and new life that Easter promises.

Day 1 – Return with Your Whole Heart

Scripture: “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. Joel 2:12-13

Encouragement: Lent begins with an invitation, not a demand. God is not pushing you away because of failure; He is calling you home because of His grace. The starting place of renewal is simply turning your heart toward Him again. You don’t have to have everything figured out—just return to God.
Confession: Where have I drifted or grown distant from God? What distractions or sins have quietly taken first place in my life?
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence)Lord, I turn my whole heart back to you today—receive me with your mercy.

Day 2 – Be Still Before God

Scripture: He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

Encouragement: God often speaks most clearly in stillness. Lent invites you to slow your pace and quiet the noise that fills your mind. In silence, we remember that God is in control and we are safe in His care.
Confession: How has busyness or constant distraction kept me from listening to God?
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence) God, quiet my heart and help me rest in your presence today.

Day 3 – Search Me, O God

Scripture: Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Encouragement: God already knows you completely—and loves you fully. Confession is not about shame but freedom. When we invite Him to search us, He gently reveals what needs healing and guides us toward new life.
Confession: Ask God to reveal attitudes, habits, or hidden sins that need to be surrendered.
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence) Father, show me what needs to change and lead me into your holiness.

Day 4 – Create in Me a Clean Heart

Scripture: Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Psalm 51:10

Encouragement: We cannot remake ourselves—but God can. He is the one who creates, renews, and restores. Lent reminds us that transformation is God’s work, and our role is to surrender.
Confession: Where do I keep trying to manage sin on my own instead of asking God to transform me?
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence) God, cleanse my heart and renew my spirit by your grace.

Day 5 – Walk in the Light

Scripture: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7

Encouragement: God does not ask you to hide your struggles. Walking in the light means honesty—with Him and with others. Freedom grows where there is openness, because Jesus has already paid for your forgiveness.
Confession: What am I hiding or pretending isn’t there? Where do I need to be honest before God?
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence) Jesus, I bring every hidden place into your light and I ask you to make me whole.

Day 6 – Hunger for What Truly Satisfies

Scripture: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Matthew 5:6

Encouragement: We all hunger for something—success, comfort, approval—but only God truly satisfies. Fasting and prayer retrain our desires. As we let go of lesser things, our appetite for God grows stronger.
Confession: What have I been depending on to satisfy me instead of God?
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence) Lord, replace my lesser cravings with a deep hunger for you.

Day 7 – Abide in Christ

Scripture: “Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:4-5

Encouragement: The goal of Lent isn’t striving harder but staying closer. Jesus invites you to abide—to remain, to dwell, to live connected to Him. Fruitfulness flows naturally from relationship, not effort.
Confession: Where have I been trying to live in my own strength instead of staying connected to Jesus?
Prayer: (2 minutes of silence) Jesus, help me remain in you today and depend on you for everything.