Spiritual Steps: Pray | Listen | Grow

Erin Brogdon and Steven Hovater walk through a prayer practice to be used in preparation for a time of service.

A Lectio Exercise from Luke 19:1-10

33:5 The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of his unfailing love.   46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.   23:1 The LORD is my shepherd,  I shall not want.   75:1 We give thanks;  your name is near.   70:1 Be pleased, O God, to deliver me. O LORD, make haste to help me!   103:1 Bless the LORD,  O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name.   107:1 Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  

A guided meditation revolving around the theme of Sabbath by Erin Brogdon. Part of a series of meditations Erin and I created for the Harding Lectureship in 2023.

My friend Erin Brogdon offers an Examen Meditation.   Prepared for the Harding Lectureship in 2023. Music licensed through Soundstripe.  

In this episode I'm joined by my friend Elizabeth Smith (@tweetinginLA) for a conversation about "The News". One of the challenges of our age is engaging the news in a healthy way, and Elizabeth offers wisdom for how reading and engaging the news can be a part of a healthy spiritual life.   You can reach me on twitter at @stevenhovater, and find additional resources for prayer and spirituality at https://Sparks.cards

This is a guided meditation to use with Prayer Sparks, available at https://sparks.cards

Created in partnership with NCYM, this meditation revolves around  ocean motifs. Designed for anybody ready to relax and meditate on the beach (or making an imaginative journey!).

Created in partnership with NCYM, this meditation calls our attention to the Presence of the Holy Spirit within us. 

Dwell | Wait | Abide | Remain | Stay | Linger | Live This guided meditation centers around the reality that we dwell in God's presence.  Take a few moments (the meditation is 12 minutes), and center yourself in the fact of God's abiding presence.  Find more resources for prayer at https://sparks.cards

This is the first in a series of guided meditations.   More resources for prayer are available at https://sparks.cards. You can also join in the community at https://facebook.com/prayersparks for daily prayers and more, and I would love it if you reach out to me at https://twitter.com/stevenhovater.    

Prayer needn't be inaccessible to beginners. The Lord is with us, whether we feel proficient or not! And yet, we find it helpful to have "rails" to get us on our way. This episode has a couple of nudges to get us on our way, and may be helpful whether you're beginning, or beginning again (as we all do!) 

How is prayer related to our capacity for attention?

Curiosity is an underrated spiritual practice!

I need a lot of practices in my life for learning to listen well—I bet I'm not the only one!

A year? Please. Give me a resolution for a week. 

A simple meditative exercise for developing gratitude.

Let it be enough.

Working on the relationship between prayer, which connects us to God, and wisdom, which is about living well in light of the future. 

How do you start a prayer? Where to begin?