Choosing to be intentional about spending more time with God will help you in so many more ways than social media, television, a hobby, politics, or the news ever could.
Lent is a holiday celebrated among Christians in preparation for Easter. While Lent is normally associated with the Catholic Church, many individuals outside this denomination wonder if they can practice Lent. If you are deciding on whether or not to celebrate and practice Lent this year, this article is for you.
Within this article, the aspects of understanding Lent will be examined, as well as understanding who should practice this holiday:
Understanding Lent
Lent occurs during the forty days leading up to Easter. During this time, people normally give up something to spend more time with God. The idea of Lent comes from Jesus’ example of fasting for forty days and forty nights. While Jesus fasted from food and water for forty days and forty nights, nowhere in the Bible are we commanded to fast from food and water forty days and forty nights, yet we are encouraged throughout Scripture to fast as a means to better focus our prayer life. Jesus fasted from food and water to better focus on the Father. He sacrificed the pleasures of food and water to spend more time with the Father in prayer.
In the same way, during Lent, we are to fast from something to spend more time with God. We don’t have to fast food because, in reality, eating and drinking water won't cause us to lose the majority of our day. Rather, we should choose something that takes up a considerable amount of time each day. A few ideas could be fasting from social media or television. In the modern day, often, these are the things that consume our time, energy, and even our hearts. Personally, I have been guilty on numerous occasions of mindlessly scrolling through social media for hours. Maybe you can relate to this?
It is more beneficial for us to give up something that takes away a majority of our time during Lent. The time that we usually spend on social media or watching television can be replaced with spending time with God in prayer and Bible reading. The purpose of Lent is to grow in your relationship with God and strengthen your relationship with Him. While the task of fasting from social media, television, or something else that takes up a good majority of your time may be difficult, it is worth it to spend more time with the Lord. The more time you spend with God, the more you will want to spend even more time with Him.
It should be noted that while Jesus fasted from food and water, it can be dangerous for human beings to do this, especially if you have a pre-existing medical problem. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing your boundaries and health. If you have been diagnosed with diabetes or another medical condition where it is important for you to eat at regular times, it is important that you don’t engage in any form of food or water fast. In fact, it is dangerous for the human body to go that long without food or water. In addition to physical problems, if you have been diagnosed with a mental disorder, such as an eating disorder, it is vital that you don’t participate in any form of food or water fast.
Special note: If a person who is recovered from an eating disorder participates in the traditional fast of fasting from food and water for Lent, this can cause terrible damage to the individual. It may cause them to relapse into their eating disorder, which could be even more difficult for them to recover a second time. Even if an individual has not recovered from an eating disorder and is still present in an eating disorder, it is also important that they don’t engage in any sort of food or water fast for Lent. This will also be extremely dangerous and can put one’s life in jeopardy. Thus, it is best to fast from something that truly will help you spend more time with God and grow in your relationship with Him.
Should I Celebrate Lent?
Since we now understand what Lent is and what it means, we can now come to the question of whether or not we can practice Lent if we are not Catholic. Lent is for all people. You don’t have to be Catholic in order to practice Lent. Anyone from any denomination can practice Lent. Even though Lent is generally connected with Catholicism, it doesn’t mean that those outside the Catholic Church cannot participate in Lent during the forty days leading up to Easter. Lent is for all Christians who are desiring to spend more time with God in prayer and Bible reading.
Whether you are a Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, or Anglican, you can still practice Lent. In other words, Protestant denominations can practice Lent. Lent is not a Catholic-only holiday. No matter which denomination you are, you can still participate in fasting and prayer to draw closer to Jesus. Anyone can practice Lent because the purpose of Lent is to spend more time with God. Through spending time with God, you will be able to know Him better, deepen your relationship with Him, and be able to shine brightly for Him. The more time we spend with God, the more we will reflect Him in our life and better understand His resurrection glory.
Catholicism has many holidays and feast days that are exclusively Catholic, yet Lent is not one of these holidays. If you want to practice Lent this year, go for it. Strive to give up something for the days of Lent that will help you have more time to spend with the Lord. I mentioned things such as social media or television, but maybe something else in your life has robbed you of time with God. Maybe being too involved in politics or the news has caused you to lose sight of Christ. Choose to give up one of these things and see if it helps you better spend time with God throughout the days of Lent. (You will definitely feel calmer and more peaceful by turning to the Lord and spending time with Him instead of looking at politics or the news.)
Thus, anybody can practice Lent. Lent is not only for Catholics but Protestant denominations too. The entire purpose of Lent is to fast from something to grow closer to God. But remember, you must give up something that will help you deepen your relationship with God. We must ask ourselves, “What can I give up to grow closer to God?” Often, the Holy Spirit will bring into our mind the thing we need to give up to grow closer to Him. By giving up whatever the Holy Spirit lays upon your heart, you will find that you will grow closer to Him through the process.
Giving up anything during the forty days and forty nights of Lent might sound incredibly difficult, yet with time, it will be easier to give up these things. Choosing to be intentional about spending more time with God will help you in so many more ways than social media, television, a hobby, politics, or the news ever could. You can choose to practice Lent this year and strive to be intentional about spending more time with the Lord. He wants to spend time with you, and He is never too far away from each of us.
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