A Lent in earnest: or, Sober thoughts for solemn days

"A Lent in earnest" by Lucy Ellen Guernsey is a devotional Christian guide written in the late 19th century. It offers day-by-day Lenten meditations grounded in Scripture and the Anglican Prayer Book, urging practical repentance, self-examination, and disciplined prayer. Aimed at ordinary believers—especially those confined at home—it explains fasting and abstinence sensibly and encourages whole-life consecration. The tone is pastoral and actionable, helping readers keep Lent with sincerity rather than mere form.

The opening of this devotional lays out a Lenten path beginning with repentance and confession, defining repentance as turning from all known sin and confession as honest acknowledgment to oneself and to God, followed by assurance of full forgiveness and a call to entire consecration. It explains fasting through Christ’s wilderness example, then shows how to keep Lent through worship, Scripture, and Prayer Book use—offering concrete practices for shut-ins—and frames abstinence as a personal, consistent rule that avoids giving offense. Guidance for invalids urges prayer for missions, simple acts of service, and small, cheerful self-denials. The text teaches that fasting subdues the flesh, warns against spiritual pride and despising the body, and counsels daily reliance on God for even the smallest needs. It tackles evil thoughts by naming them as sin, crowding them out with Scripture, meditation, and prayer, and then provides clear, practical instruction for meditation (with Bible passages and collects) and for persevering, faithful prayer and intercession. Finally, it asks God’s defense against enemies and identifies the true foes—the world, the flesh, and the devil—beginning a vivid critique of “the world” in business, society, and home life.