Two (and a half) Lent Devotional Recommendations

What do you recommend?

Several people have asked me for recommendations for Lenten devotionals. Finding a solid devotional for these rich seasons can be a tricky thing. In the past, I haven’t found very many great options… or at least, I haven’t found very many free options that are readily available online (maybe that’s my problem!).

In any case, given my line of work, I spend a considerable amount of time each week studying the Scriptures. That being the case, I tend to appreciate Lenten devotionals that aren’t just straight Scripture readings and reflection. If that’s what you’re looking for, my recommendations may not be that helpful.  Such as they are, here are the devotionals I recommend (and will be using daily):

Recommendation #1: Malcolm Guite’s The Word in the Wilderness

The Word in the Wilderness is a compilation of poems with insightful theological commentary. Guite provides a poem a day for Lent and Easter. He also has a companion compilation for Advent. These are hands down my favorite devotionals for these seasons. I think this one is like $17 on Amazon. It’s well worth the price. Buy it now and thank me later!

Recommendation #2: The Lent Project 

The Lent Project is a daily devotional series celebrating Lent through art and Scripture. It is produced by the Center for Christianity, Culture & the Arts at Biola University. If this year’s version is anything like a previous version I used, it will be excellent. You can sign up for a daily email: The Lent Project.

Recommendation #2.5: Abide

The reasons this is 2.5 (and not 3) is because this isn’t a Lent specific thing. Abide is a wonderful app a good friend recently recommended to me. It is a Christian meditation app that leads you in a daily time of prayerful, reflective, Scripture-saturated meditation. The mission of Abide is “for the world to experience the peace of Christ through Biblical mediation.” I have used it for a few weeks now and have absolutely loved it. My heart language is contemplative, so this is my jam. If you’re a little nervous about “meditation,” then feel free to not check this out. That said, I highly recommend it. I have been very impressed by the solid theological acumen of the content creators and their biblical insights as they’ve guided me through contemplative prayer over the past few weeks.

If you end up taking advantage of any of these recommendations, I’d love to hear about it!