Letting Go

Lent 2026, Week 2

Scripture Readings

Hebrews 12:1–2

Philippians 3:7–14

Psalm 131

Opening Introduction

Lent begins with the simple practice of letting go. Every one of us carries habits, patterns, attachments, and distractions that pull our attention away from God. Some of these we can name easily; others work quietly in the background. The first movement of Lent is to loosen our grip on the things that weigh us down so we can return to the One who loves us.

Letting go isn’t about self-improvement or becoming more disciplined. It’s about making room. It’s about recognizing the ways we cling to comfort, certainty, control, or busyness, and then gently releasing them so we can receive something better. The slow work of God often begins by clearing the clutter, softening our hearts, and helping us see what gets in the way of love.

As we continue this first full week of Lent, we ask God to help us let go with honesty, humility, and trust.

Reflection

Letting go is one of the most difficult parts of spiritual formation because it requires us to face what we hold onto. Hebrews invites us to “lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles,” not through shame or willpower, but by fixing our eyes on Jesus. Paul writes in Philippians 3 about counting everything as loss, not because those things were bad, but because he had found something far greater.

Letting go is about reordering and reprioritizing. Letting go is recognizing when something good has become ultimate, or when something necessary has become consuming. Lent gives us space to name what distracts us and exhausts us, what numbs us, and what steals our attention from God and from the people we love.

This is slow work. We are not asked to empty ourselves overnight. We are invited to begin: to release one thing, to loosen our grip on another, to trust that God meets us in the open space. Like the psalmist who quiets his soul like a weaned child with its mother, we learn to rest in God without demanding what we think we need.

In letting go, we are not losing ourselves but finding ourselves again in God. Lent reminds us that surrender is not a punishment but a pathway to freedom.

Consider

1. What are you holding onto right now: habits, distractions, expectations, or fears that weigh you down?

2. What patterns or attachments crowd out your attentiveness to God?

3. Where is control keeping you from trust?

4. What might God be inviting you to release this week so that you can rest more deeply in Him?

Prayer Prompts

Use these prompts to guide your prayer this week:

• Name one place of attachment.
  Begin by asking the Spirit to show you something you are holding tightly—comfort, approval, distraction, control, certainty, or pace. Do not rush to fix it. Simply name it honestly before God and notice what emotions surface as you do.

• Pray Hebrews 12:1 slowly.
  Read the verse aloud, paying attention to the phrase “every weight.” Ask God to help you discern the difference between what is essential and what has become burdensome. Let the words become a prayer of release rather than a command.

• Pray with your hands open.
  Sit or stand with your hands physically open before you. As you breathe slowly, imagine placing what you are holding into God’s care. Notice any resistance, fear, or relief that arises. Stay with that feeling without judgment.

• Ask God to reorder your desires.
  Bring before God the things you want most right now—security, rest, affirmation, success, relief. Ask Him to realign your desires toward what is good, true, and life-giving, trusting that He knows what you need better than you do.

• Invite God into your fasting.
  As you fast this week, pay attention to what you reach for instinctively when discomfort or restlessness appears. Instead of filling the space quickly, pause and turn your attention toward God. Let hunger, absence, or inconvenience become an invitation to trust rather than control.

Intercede (Corporate Prayer for the Network)

Pray that the Kansas City Underground would become a people marked by holy release. Ask God to help us let go of the hurry, pressure, and distraction that shape our culture. Pray for freedom from anything that keeps us from love for God, for neighbor, and for the places we serve. Ask the Spirit to create space in us as a network, space that He can fill with wisdom, compassion, courage, and grace.

Closing Prayer

Lord, teach us to let go. Release our grip on what weighs us down. Quiet the desires that pull us from You. Show us what to surrender and give us the courage to trust You with it. Make space in us for Your presence and Your peace. Lead us into the freedom You offer. Amen.

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