What Is Lent and Why Do Christians Observe It?

The modern world moves quickly.

Notifications buzz. Calendars fill up. Even our moments of rest feel scheduled. We measure our days by productivity and our worth by what we accomplish.

Yet beneath all the motion, many of us feel tired in ways sleep alone cannot fix.

Our souls were not designed to live at the speed of constant hurry.

This is one reason the season of Lent matters.

Recently I posted a picture of my grandson Griffy with ashes in the shape of a cross on his forehead. A few people immediately asked if I had suddenly become Catholic.

Not at all. I’m a Protestant and a follower of Jesus.

While many Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, and Episcopal believers observe Ash Wednesday, the practice of Lent actually predates those traditions. And while it may not have been emphasized in my background growing up, the heart behind it is deeply biblical.

Lent is not about ritual as much as it is about preparation.

It invites us to slow down.
To fast.
To make space.
To prepare our hearts for the journey toward Easter.

In a hurried world, Lent becomes an invitation to breathe again.

When we read the Gospels, something becomes clear.

Jesus was never rushed.

He had only three years of public ministry, yet He walked from town to town. He welcomed interruptions. He stopped to notice people others overlooked.

The Gospel of Luke often shows Jesus on roads, at tables, or in quiet places of prayer.

He did not hurry to prove Himself.

He moved at the pace of love.

Lent invites us to rediscover that pace.

Spiritual writer Dallas Willard once said, “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day.”

Hurry scatters our attention.
It divides our hearts.
It keeps us constantly moving but rarely present.

We hurry through conversations.
We hurry through meals.
Sometimes we even hurry through prayer.

But God is rarely found in the frantic moments of life. He is most often discovered in the quiet.

Lent becomes a gentle resistance to the culture of hurry. It reminds us that slowing down is not weakness. It is wisdom.

When we slow down, we begin to notice things we were missing before.

The quiet whisper of God in prayer.
The needs of the people around us.
The condition of our own hearts.

Richard Foster once wrote that superficiality is the curse of our age.

Slowing down helps us move beneath the surface.

Beneath the noise.
Beneath the performance.
Beneath the endless activity.

And in that quiet place, we rediscover the presence of God.

One of the historic practices of Lent is fasting.

At first it may seem like fasting is simply about giving something up. But in reality, it is about making room.

When we fast from noise, we create space for silence.
When we fast from distractions, we rediscover attention.
When we fast from constant consumption, we remember that life is more than what we take in.

Fasting loosens the grip of urgency.

It reminds us that the world keeps turning even when we pause.

And often it is in those pauses that we notice God waiting for us.

Psalm 23 says that the Lord “makes me lie down in green pastures.”

Sometimes we resist that rest. We keep pushing forward, filling every margin with activity.

But the soul cannot be rushed.

It opens slowly, like a flower.

Writer John Mark Comer reminds us that hurry and love cannot coexist. Love requires attention. Attention requires presence. Presence requires slowing down.

This is why Lent can become a season of restoration.

We begin to savor Scripture instead of skimming it.
We pray without watching the clock.
We listen more carefully to God and to others.

In slowing down, we rediscover what it means to truly live.

Lent offers a practical opportunity to build healthier rhythms in our spiritual lives. Here are a few simple ways to begin.

1. Create Space for Prayer
Set aside intentional moments each day to be quiet before God.

2. Practice Fasting
Consider fasting from a meal, social media, or another distraction that often fills your attention.

3. Simplify Your Schedule
Not every opportunity must become an obligation. Leave room in your life for rest.

4. Pay Attention to the Present
Slow down enough to notice the people, conversations, and small blessings God places in your day.

At the end of life, very few people wish they had hurried more.

Few wish they had answered more emails or filled more hours with activity.

But many wish they had been more present.

More present with God.
More present with family.
More present with the gift of each day.

Lent gives us forty days to practice that kind of presence.

Forty days to loosen the grip of hurry.
Forty days to return to God.
Forty days to rediscover our souls.

And in the quiet spaces we create, we often find that God has been waiting for us all along.