Isaiah 55:6-7 “Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: 7 let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
God is always God; He is always ready to answer, yet even so He sets aside special times during the year to call us back to Himself. The Lord knows that life can distract us from Him, so He gives us the month of Elul before the High Holy Days to hear the shofar (trumpet) sound every day, reminding us that the new year will soon arrive, followed by a day of prayer and fasting, and culminating in an eight-day celebration with the Lord.
Yesterday, I began reading The Crucified Life by A. W. Tozer again. It is a book that I return to often because it spurs me on in my relationship with God. It reminds me that the ways of this world have nothing for me. Every year Elul comes, it is a time of introspection, repentance, giving, and drawing near to God in preparation for the High Holidays. The thing the Holy Spirit has highlighted to me for this Elul is abiding with the Lord. I have been meditating on John chapters fourteen and fifteen for a few months now, and it is growing in me. The more we begin to draw near to the Lord, the more the things of this world pale in comparison to Him.
In reading the first section of Tozer’s book yesterday, it once again stood out to me how dependent upon man and man’s ways I can be. We want God, yet we can be afraid to seek Him apart from a given tradition. We want God, yet we won’t let go of the sin that seems so good. We wan’t God, yet our walk with Him can be crowded out by meetings and desires for a “move of God” that can actually take us away from Him.
This Elul, as I go through Rabbi Simon Jacobson’s 60 Days: A Spiritual Guide to the High Holidays, (I encourage you to get this guide, read the introduction, and begin the Journey Thursday, the 30th of AV.) my prayer is that I will surrender more to Him than I have in the past, that I would be free of any hold of man made systems that keep me from the heart of the Father, that I may know Him and dwell with Him.
One of the teachings of the month of Elul is that the King is in the field. There is no palace protocol in the field; you just come to the King to talk, to present a request, to be with Him. Elul is a time to set yourself aside with God, to come out from the things that hinder your relationship with Him, and come close to Him.
Elul and the month of Tishrei are a season of time that can break every weight and sin. It is a season to draw close to God and not fall back into old patterns and habits. If you give sixty days to God, you will definitely have some new habits. I would encourage you to spend the first 21 days of Elul (August 14-September 3) fasting from TV and music. I know that’s an intense fast, but it gives each of us time to shut out all other voices and tune into the Father more clearly.
Elul is a special time of communion with the Lord. Take some time before nightfall Thursday and ask the Holy Spirit how you should dedicate this month and your time to the Lord. He is in the field during the month of Elul; He is near; He wants to hear from you.
The Month of Elul begins on the 30th of Av because it is a 29-day month. In 2026, that is August 13-September 11
It is customary to blow the shofar (trumpet) every day during Elul, except on Shabbat (Saturday) and the last day of the month (Sept. 11), so that the blowing of the shofar on the new month of Tishrei is separated from the month of Elul. If you do not have a shofar, you can listen to it daily here.
It is also customary to read Psalm 27 daily.
I encourage you to get the 60-Day Guide to help you take meaningful steps each day in repentance and drawing nearer to God.
If you have never read The Crucified Life, I highly recommend it and believe Elul is a great month to experience the power in its pages.
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