Lent is a season that brings us before our humanity. The Lenten prayers and liturgies with which Christians may be most familiar tend to emphasize the ways in which human beings come up short: the finitude of our lives, the limits of our bodies and minds, the imperfection of our faithfulness to God and love for others, and the destructive and disempowering effects of our sin-entangled choices upon the world. However, these dimensions of human life do not tell the whole story of who we are.

In order to grapple truthfully and carefully with these aspects of being human during Lent, we need to let the season bring us before our full humanity in all of its complexity: the reflections of God’s image that we embody, the goodness of our flesh, the interrelated shape of our lives with one another and the rest of creation, the preciousness of every breath we breathe, and the gracious, steady presence of God with us, loving us, at every moment.

The prayers and blessings for Ash Wednesday and Lent that we offer below have been chosen with this goal in mind. We hope that they help you and your communities come before God in all of your humanity during this season. As always, when sharing or using, please give credit to the original sources.

Ash Wednesday

Blessing/Benediction

“Blessings, like God’s love, are not one-way experiences.
As you have been blessed with the mark of God’s love
you are now called to go out from this place and bless others.
May the God who created you create opportunities of serving others.
May the Christ who teaches you teach you during Lent how to love all.
And may the Spirit of Gentleness be your companion along this Lenten journey.
Amen.”

From “Beloved Dust to Dust – Ash Wednesday Worship Service – Wednesday, February 22, 2012” by Local Church Ministries, Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, United Church of Christ website

Call to Worship

“One: Friends and neighbors, in the middle of our busy week,
we pause to observe Ash Wednesday together as a faith community.
All: We come to remember that God made us from fragile, blessed dust
And breathes through us the breath of life and love.

“One: From dust we are created in God’s image
and to God’s good dust we shall return.
All: With dust and oil we claim the mark of God’s beloved creature.

“One: Today we begin our 40-day Lenten journey
to discover who we are created to be as God’s beloved.
All: In daily practices of prayer and service
we will embark upon this Lenten journey.

“One: We follow Jesus, God’s Beloved Child,
bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh
In whom we see God’s image most clearly.
All: So come, let us pray for strength and imagination
to follow Jesus wherever he will lead us this Lent.”

From “Beloved Dust to Dust – Ash Wednesday Worship Service – Wednesday, February 22, 2012” by Local Church Ministries, Congregational Vitality and Discipleship Ministry Team, United Church of Christ website

The Fast of Practicing Justice and Compassion

“God, our guide in wilderness and testing,
in Jesus Christ you show us the fast you choose:
the practice of justice and compassion.
Teach us to follow him in truth and grace,
receiving our reward with your saints in glory;
through Christ, the treasure of our hearts.”

From “Prayers for Ash Wednesday,” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) website

For Courage to Accept God’s Healing

“Righteous God,
in humility and repentance
we bring our failures in caring, helping, and loving,
we bring the pain we have caused others,
we bring the injustice in society of which we are a part,
to the transforming power of your grace.
Grant us the courage to accept the healing you offer
and to turn again toward the sunrise of your reign,
that we may walk with you in the promise of peace
you have willed for all the children of the earth,
and have made known to us in Christ Jesus. Amen.”

From “Ash Wednesday: Year A,” Revised Common Lectionary, Vanderbilt Divinity Library website

For Strength to Face Our Mortality

“Gracious God, out of your love and mercy you breathed into dust the breath of life, creating us to serve you and our neighbors. Call forth our prayers and acts of kindness, and strengthen us to face our mortality with confidence in the mercy of your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.”

From “Ash Wednesday,” Augburg Fortress website

Lent

“A Prayer for Lent in the Wilderness”

“God of the wilderness and the way,
God of Egypt and the Promised Land,
And the desert in between,
Here we are again on the Lenten road,
A path of preparation, testing, suffering,
A way through the wilderness.
The road is unfamiliar, though we have walked it many times before.
We trust that we are not alone.
We remember Moses and the Israelites
Who followed you,
And you led, protected, and provided.
We look to Jesus, driven to the desert by the Holy Spirit,
And you strengthened him by the same Spirit.
We long for your leadership, protection, provision, and strength.
We long for your Spirit and your Word.
O God, lead us to repentance.
Strip away all that keeps us from your truth.
Unveil the times we have been silent when you called us to speak.
Uncover the injustice we have ignored,
The suffering we have turned away from,
The comfort we have chosen over courage.
Let the wilderness teach us, refine us.
Open our eyes to the world as you see it.
God of truth and mercy, give us the strength to name what is broken,
To confront injustice with unwavering love.
May we tell the stories that need to be told.
May we create community where there is division.
May we strive for justice for all people and for all creation.
Let our fasting be a fast from indifference.
Let our prayer rise not only in words but in action, in solidarity, in love.
Holy One, we trust in your promise
That though the road leads to the cross,
The road does not end there—
That beyond this wilderness, beyond every wilderness,
There is resurrection.
Beyond this moment, there is a future made new by your grace.
Fill us with faith for that future.
Let us be bearers of hope, sowers of peace.
Lead us through the desert.
Protect us, provide for us, strengthen us.
On this Lenten road, transform us.
And through us, transform the world.
In the name of Jesus, who walked the road before us, and walks with us now.
Amen.”

By Brian Sigmon, from “Prayers for Lent,” National Council of Churches website

Second Sunday in Lent: To the God of Calls and Courage

“God of calls and courage, you draw us towards your loving embrace even as we face what seems like impossibility. We experience heartache and grief, injustice and cruelty, fear and anxiety as daily teachers on this path of faith. As you call us to go into an uncertain and unknown future, O God, grant us the courage needed to let go of all that we have known so that we can take hold of the new life you are bringing about even now. Though we may not know where we are going, God, your way is revealed moment by moment, step by step, and breath by breath. In the name of the One who so loves the world we pray. Amen.”

From “Lent 2A — March 5” by Chad Abbott, United Church of Christ website (Mar. 5, 2023)

Third Sunday in Lent: “Blessing the Body”

“This blessing takes
one look at you
and all it can say is
holy.

“Holy hands.
Holy face.
Holy feet.
Holy everything
in between.

“Holy even in pain.
Holy even when weary.
In brokenness, holy.
In shame, holy still.

“Holy in delight.
Holy in distress.
Holy when being born.
Holy when we lay it down
at the hour of our death.

“So, friend,
open your eyes
(holy eyes).
For one moment
see what this blessing sees,
this blessing that knows
how you have been formed
and knit together
in wonder and
in love.

“Welcome this blessing
that folds its hands
in prayer
when it meets you;
receive this blessing
that wants to kneel
in reverence
before you:
you who are
temple,
sanctuary,
home for God
in this world.”

By Jan Richardson, from “3rd Sunday in Lent: Speaking of the Body,” The Painted Prayerbook (Mar. 3, 2012)

Fourth Sunday in Lent: Jesus, True Bread

“Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.”

From “The Collects” in “The Book of Common Prayer” (219)

Fifth Sunday in Lent: Awaken and Unbind Us

“Christ our Savior, you call us by name,
leading us from death into eternal life.
Awaken and unbind us by your Word,
so that we may live and grow in faith,
sharing your saving love with others;
for you are the resurrection and the life.”

From “Prayers for Lent: Fifth Sunday in Lent, Year A,” Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) website

Additional Resources for Lenten Prayers

• “Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human” by Cole Arthur Riley (Convergent, 2024)
• “Common Prayer for Children and Families” by Jenifer Gamber and Timothy J. S. Seamans (Church Publishing, 2020)

Featured image is by Hannes Knutsson on Unsplash