Entering the Slow Work

Lent 2026, Week 1

Scripture Readings

• Joel 2:12–13

• Psalm 90

• 2 Corinthians 3:17–18

Opening Introduction

Lent is a season in the church calendar where followers of Jesus slow down, return to God, and remember that we are dust. That feels heavy. But, it’s the intent of the season that followers of Jesus have historically entered. Lent begins with humility. This season is not about proving our devotion by giving up sweets or trying harder to be spiritual. Lent is about making space. It is about clearing room to listen, to repent, to rest, and to allow God to lead us toward Resurrection life.

Over these next seven weeks, we will be reflecting on what Christians across centuries have called the slow work of God—the patient, hidden, steady way God forms His people. This journey invites us to resist our instinct to rush, strive, or manage our own transformation. It calls us to open space within ourselves for God to act.

Fasting becomes one way we make this space. When we fast, we loosen our grip on the things we rely on, creating room to encounter God in new ways. As we begin Lent, we enter together with honesty and humility, preparing our hearts for the work that lies ahead.

Reflection

Scripture shows us again and again that God forms people slowly. Creation unfolds day by day and in a rhythm. Abraham waits decades for the promise to unfold. Israel learns trust through the years in the wilderness. The disciples grow through missteps, misunderstandings, and patient correction. Paul describes transformation as a gradual work of the Spirit, moving us “from one degree of glory to another.”

This is not because God is distant or indifferent. It is because real formation takes time. Character takes time. Healing takes time. Learning to trust takes time. The most important work God does in us often happens beneath the surface, in ways we do not immediately recognize.

Lent invites us into this way of being formed. It confronts our impatience and our desire for instant clarity. It loosens our grip on self-reliance and control. It trains us to pay attention to God’s presence in small things, quiet moments, and hidden places. Through practices like fasting, silence, and reflection, Lent helps us make space for the Spirit to do what we cannot manufacture in ourselves.

As we begin this season, we acknowledge our limits and our longing. We admit that we are unfinished people in the hands of a patient God. And we trust that the Spirit will form us in ways that may be slow, but are always good.

Consider

What hurried patterns or noisy habits might God be inviting you to release this Lent?

Where do you resist slowness, hiddenness, or waiting?

What would it look like to make real space for God in the coming weeks?

How might fasting become a doorway to deeper attentiveness this Lent?

Prayer Prompts

Use these prompts to guide your prayer this week:

• Pray Joel 2:12–13 slowly.
  Read the passage aloud, more than once if needed. Sit with the invitation to “return.” Ask the Spirit to show you where your heart has drifted—not with guilt, but with honesty. Let returning feel relational, not performative.

• Name your dustiness before God.
  Acknowledge your limits. Name the places where you rely on your own strength, speed, competence, or control. Offer these to God without explanation or defense. Remember that dust is not a curse, but a reminder that every breath is grace.

• Invite God into your pace.
  Bring your daily rhythms before God—your mornings, evenings, work, relationships, and rest. Ask the Spirit to slow the hurried places in your life: your thoughts, reactions, expectations, and sense of urgency.

• Pray through fasting.
  Ask God what He might be inviting you to release during this Lenten season. As you consider what to fast from, pay attention to what usually captures your attention, comforts you, or fills empty space. Imagine that space becoming a daily invitation to turn toward Jesus in prayer rather than filling it quickly.

• Welcome hiddenness.
  Sit quietly for a few moments without asking for clarity or outcomes. Ask God for the grace to trust the work He is doing beneath the surface. Pray for patience to remain attentive even when nothing feels obvious or resolved.

Intercede (Corporate Prayer for the Network)

Pray that the Kansas City Underground would enter Lent with humility and openness to God’s forming work. Ask the Spirit to slow us collectively, quiet our hurry, calm our striving, and awaken a holy attentiveness. Pray that every microchurch, family, missional team, and dinner table would welcome the slow work of God, trusting that He will lead us step by step toward Resurrection life.

Closing Prayer

Lord, we enter this season with open hands. Teach us to slow down. Teach us to return. Teach us to trust Your gentle, patient work within us. Clear out the noise, the hurry, and the striving. Make space in us for Your presence. Lead us into the slow work of grace.

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