Traditional Lenten activities like prayer, fasting, and giving are revealed in these 22 bible verses for Lent.
Every year plenty of believers practice Lent. Lent is the period of 40 days that takes place before Easter. This period of time begins on Ash Wednesday and serves the purpose of reflection and preparation for the Easter weekend.
Though Lent is celebrated by many, it is interesting to know that the Bible doesn’t record Lent as a practice that was observed by the early church. The origins of Lent are from tradition rather than a command from scripture.
The idea behind the 40 days of Lent is inspired by Jesus’ time in the wilderness, where He spends 40 days and 40 nights praying and fasting before the start of His public ministry. Which we can read about in the gospel of Matthew and the gospel of Mark.
There are a few main focuses when it comes to Lent. Prayer, fasting and giving. Prayer during Lent focuses on our need for God’s forgiveness, turning away from our sin and receiving His mercy.
Fasting during Lent focuses on giving up something that is a normal part of your life, and being a type of sacrifice that reminds you of Christ’s sacrifice. Some people give up eating out, social media, or entertainment, to name a few examples.
And last but not least, the giving aspect of Lent encourages generosity, and either giving or doing for others as a response to the grace and kindness that God has given to you.
Though Lent is not recorded in scripture, it can be a wonderful time for believers to draw near to God and reflect on the work of Christ, and the grace that we get to share in.
These Bible verses can help you reflect during this time of Lent!
22 Bible Verses for Lent
1. Matthew 6:21 – Your Heart is Where Your Treasure is
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
2. 1 Peter 5:6 – Humble Yourself Before God
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.
3. Isaiah 58:6 – Fasting
Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
4. Psalm 42:2 – My Soul Thirsts for God
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
5. Isaiah 30:18 – The Lord Longs To Be Gracious To You
Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!
6. Matthew 6:33 – Seek First His Kingdom and His Righteousness
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
7. Jeremiah 29:12 – Call On Him and Pray to Him
Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.
8. Psalm 33:20-22 – We Wait in Hope for the Lord
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.
9. Joel 2:12-14 – Return To Him with All Your Heart
“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. Who knows? He may turn and relent and leave behind a blessing — grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.
10. Mark 1:12-15 – Jesus’ Time In the Wilderness
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him. After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.“The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
11. Matthew 6:16-18 – When You Fast Do So In Secret
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
12. Philippians 3:10-11 – Knowing Christ
I want to know Christ — yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
13. Isaiah 40:31 – Those Who Hope in Him Will Renew Their Strength
But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
14. Micah 7:7 – Watch in Hope for the Lord
But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
15. John 3:14-18 – Whoever Believes In Him Has Eternal Life
Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
16. Hosea 12:6 – Return to Your God
But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
17. Romans 12:12 – Be Faithful in Prayer
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
18. Psalm 25:4-5 – My Hope Is in You All Day Long
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
19. John 16:33 – He Has Overcome The World
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
20. Matthew 4:1-11 – The Temptation in the Wilderness
Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written:
“‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.“All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.”
Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.
21. Micah 5:4 – His Greatness Will Reach to the Ends of the Earth
He will stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they will live securely, for then his greatness will reach to the ends of the earth.
22. Mark 1:12-15 – He Was In the Wilderness Forty Days
At once the Spirit sent him out into the wilderness, and he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. He was with the wild animals, and angels attended him.
After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”
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