Thy Will Be Done

Lent is not a time for excess, either of food, or of religion. It is a time to rid ourselves of what the poet George Herbert calls 'passion', which is not a burning desire to do good or the emotional dimension of life in general, but what we today would call the sort of suffering caused by stress, tension or anxiety.

Lent should be welcomed as a considered, slow and deep time, designed to generate a sense of spaciousness, and facilitate a deeper engagement with things that really matter.

Jesus's sojourn in the wilderness was a time of fasting and restraint that led to a challenge which in turn led to clarity of purpose, resolution and focus. The point was not in the negativity of the experience, or the deprivations, but in the energy and the reorientation that resulted. Lent is a season when we can follow Jesus by pressing the 'pause' button, taking some time out, dealing with whatever then arises and praying for a new and deeper sense of clarity and purpose for our lives. The way to do this is not by adding to our tasks, complexifying our thinking or making an especially heroic effort, but by clearing our diaries and our minds, calming our hearts and our nerves, and simplifying all the practices of our faith - especially our prayer.

This Lent book is intended to be a help and encouragement with prayer. It is not an expert's guide to techniques of prayer, nor is it a scholar's survey of prayer through the ages. Rather it is an invitation to deepen your relationship with the most well-known of all Christian prayers, the prayer that Jesus taught his disciples: the 'Lord's Prayer'.