{"id":19419,"date":"2025-03-27T14:19:57","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T19:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/?p=19419"},"modified":"2025-03-27T16:22:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T21:22:51","slug":"a-leaders-prayer-during-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2025\/03\/a-leaders-prayer-during-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"A Leader\u2019s Prayer During Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lectionary Readings for Fifth Sunday in Lent (April 6, 2025):<\/strong>
\nIsaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8
\nLent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/i><\/b>Lent is a time of returning to God. It is a time to confess how we keep looking for joy, peace, and satisfaction in the many people and things surrounding us without really finding what we desire. Only God can give us what we want. So we must be reconciled with God\u2026 The season of Lent helps us in a special way to cry out for God\u2019s mercy.\u201d <\/i>\u2013Henri Nouwen<\/p>\n

\n

There comes a time in the spiritual life when one of the major things God is up to is to lovingly help us see ourselves more clearly. This is a time when we are called to wake up to the darkness within and invite the light of God\u2019s presence to shine there. Just as winter and spring\u2014light and darkness\u2014seem to be fighting for dominance during this season of the earth, Lent is a spiritual season for seeing, naming and confessing our own darkness until eventually it gives way to God\u2019s marvelous light.<\/p>\n

A Leader\u2019s Prayer During Lent<\/h2>\n

It is not easy to consider \u201cdying so that we might live,\u201d but there are times when this is what God calls us to. When we embrace the rhythms of the Church year as seasons of transformation, hiddenness, self-examination, and fasting is what we are called to during Lent. Let\u2019s pray for ourselves and one another that we will hear God\u2019s call to us during this Lenten season. Perhaps this prayer from Henri Nouwen\u2019s work, A Cry for Mercy,<\/i> will help us.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, Lord, I have to die\u2014with you, through you, and in you\u2014and thus become ready to recognize you when you appear to me in your resurrection.\u00a0 There is so much in me that needs to die: false attachments, greed and anger, impatience and stinginess.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

O Lord, I am self-centered, concerned about myself, my career, my future, my name and fame.\u00a0 Often I even feel that I use you to my own advantage\u2026<\/i><\/p>\n

Yes, Lord, I know it is true.\u00a0 I know that often I have spoken about you, written about you, and acted in your name for my own glory and success.\u00a0 Your name has not led me to persecution, oppression, or rejection.\u00a0 Your name has brought me rewards!\u00a0 I see clearly how little I have died with you, really gone your way and been faithful to it.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

O Lord, make this Lenten season different from the other ones.\u00a0 Let me find you again.\u00a0 Amen.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 Ruth Haley Barton, 2025. Not to be reproduced without permission.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/h2>\n

How are you cultivating a deep, sustainable life with God in the midst of your leadership demands?<\/h2>\n

Explore our newest offering, Haven: An Experience of Transforming Community.<\/em> This community will meet alternately online and in person to create space for leaders to forge a stronger connection between their souls and their leadership.<\/p>\n

Take the first step<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lectionary Readings for Fifth Sunday in Lent (April 6, 2025): Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8 Lent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary \u201cLent is…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":19422,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[43],"class_list":["post-19419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beyond-words","tag-lent"],"yoast_head":"\nA Leader\u2019s Prayer During Lent - Transforming Center<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2025\/03\/a-leaders-prayer-during-lent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A Leader\u2019s Prayer During Lent\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lectionary Readings for Fifth Sunday in Lent (April 6, 2025): Isaiah 43:16-21, Psalm 126, Philippians 3:4b-14, John 12:1-8 Lent Calendar (Cycle C) and guidance for using the lectionary \u201cLent is…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2025\/03\/a-leaders-prayer-during-lent\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Transforming Center\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/transformingcenter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/transformingcenter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T19:19:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-03-27T21:22:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lent2025-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"768\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"384\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ruth Haley Barton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@TransformingCnt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@TransformingCtr\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ruth Haley Barton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2025\/03\/a-leaders-prayer-during-lent\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/transformingcenter.org\/2025\/03\/a-leaders-prayer-during-lent\/\",\"name\":\"A Leader\u2019s Prayer During Lent - 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