How to Use This Guide

Pray and Choose a Fast
After praying and asking for guidance from the Holy Spirit, I will be abstaining from _______________________ for Lent 2026.

Daily Content
This guide includes a daily time of reading, response, and prayer starting on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 (Ash Wednesday) and ending on Easter Sunday. Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week, for which we will have additional resources. This guide excludes other Sundays, as they are meant to be a time of corporate worship and celebration. 

The daily content for this guide is designed to focus on six different biblical themes that encapsulate the heart of the Lenten season: prayer, humility, confession, mercy, forgiveness, and suffering. We will be devoting a week to each theme, taking a look at how God wants to use these practices to sanctify us. The cross and Christ’s sacrifice on it should cause us to approach these weeks with a posture of solemn reverence as we meditate on the reality of our sin and our desperate need for a Savior. 

We encourage you to start each day of the guide with prayer. Ask God to help you have a deeper desire for Him. Ask Him to reveal the areas of your life that need repentance, reconciliation, healing, or a work of His Spirit. Spend some time listening and tuning your heart to Him in silence. 

Next, read the selected passages based on the weekly theme. Read them expectantly and patiently, looking for the thread of the Gospel through each verse and reflecting on the way Jesus modeled these practices for us. Then, take a few minutes to reflect on what you read by answering the Discussion Questions—on your own or with your family. After each week, pause and meditate on how God is moving before moving on to the next portion. 
Finally, end your time how you began it—in prayer! Thank God for the truths He faithfully reveals in His Word. Ask Him to bless your time of fasting with more of Him as he draws you into a deeper knowledge of His glory and love for you.