---
title: "What Is Lent?"
canonical: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/questions/what-is-lent"
markdown: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/questions/what-is-lent.md"
type: "questions"
typeTitle: "Questions"
authors:
  - "A. W. Tozer"
date: "2023-03-01"
updated: "2026-09-15"
topics:
  - "Holidays"
  - "Lent & Easter"
perspective: "Learn"
relatedBook: "From the Grave"
relatedBookUrl: "https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/books/from-the-grave"
---

# What Is Lent?

> Lent is a 40-day season of preparation before Easter, commemorating Jesus' time in the wilderness. Christians observe it through fasting, prayer, and self-examination.

**Type:** Questions  
**Published:** March 1, 2023  
**Authors:** [A. W. Tozer](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/authors/a-w-tozer)  
**Topics:** [Holidays](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/topics/holidays), [Lent & Easter](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/topics/lent-easter)  
**Perspective:** Learn

Lent is the time of waiting and preparing for Easter. Stemming from the Old English term lent(c)ten, Lent simply means “spring season,” yet it refers to the Latin term Quadragesima, which means “fortieth.”  

## Why Is Lent 40 Days Long?

  
The forty days of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with the Saturday before Easter Sunday, commemorate Jesus’ forty days in the wilderness, when He fasted and was tempted by the devil.  

## Why Do Christians Observe Lent?

  
The purpose of the season of Lent, therefore, is to prepare believers for commemorating Jesus’ self-sacrifice, especially as it is displayed in His death and resurrection, and to help them experience in a concrete way the Christian journey from death to new life.  

## How Do Christians Observe Lent?

  
Common practices associated with Lent include fasting, self-examination and repentance, acts of self-denial, extended times of prayer, following prescribed Scripture readings and prayers, and reading daily devotionals.

## For Further Reading

[From the Grave](https://www.bibletolife.com/resources/books/from-the-grave)

by A. W. Tozer