It’s that time again - Lent!

I’ve always tried to observe lent as a period when I make extra time for God.

The season snuck up on me this year and I’m ill-prepared.

However, one thing occurred to me as I sat down to think about the shape of lent for me this year - memorising the Bible.

A few years ago all three of us in my L3D accountability group decided to learn off by heart Ephesians 3:14-21 - Paul’s amazing prayer that the Church in Ephesus would receive the power to know how much they are loved by God. I was asked to preach on this passage a couple of weeks ago and decided that part of my preparation would be to re-learn it. It gave me great satisfaction to do a dramatic recital of the passage rather than reading it.

I was reminiscing with Chas (an inspiring Christian and member of the L3D group who learnt it and remembered it far better than me) about how significant both of us found the passage and how it sustained us both through difficult times in recent years. Afterwards i realised that without being aware of it, I’d begun to recite the passage in my head (and occasionally out loud - the dog may soon know it off by heart too as the morning walk is a great time to speak it out) several times a day.

So my Lenten discipline this year comes in two parts:
Learning key bible passages off by heart.
Filling the quiet moments in the day by saying the passages to myself.

I think constant repetition of scripture has a much greater impact on our minds, our spirits and our lives than we realise and expect that in speaking out God’s word, I’ll be drawn closer to him.

My next challenge is working out what the passages will be.

By the end of lent I hope to be regularly reciting six passages to myself.

Which passages would you choose?