This may not be what you normally expect from an episode of Spiritual Steps, but I think it's important to have a conversation about what it means to experience intimacy with God during prayer, and how we manage our expectations of such experiences.
This episode offers a way of praying that helps us develop our perspective. Sometimes you need to see the forest, and some times you need to see the trees.
The context in which you read a text can be just as important as the context in which it was written. This episode, we'll learn to use that.
Three exercises for opening up the reading of scripture by shifting your reading context.
Host: Steven Hovater
Try reading the gospels, one at a time, in single sittings. It takes a little longer than the normal way we encounter them, but it can enrich your understanding of Jesus and what it means to follow him.
Host: Steven Hovater
Learn the practice of intentionally using your language—one of your most powerful tools—to bless other people.
Much of what we search for is wrapped in mystery—and yet, God’s spirit is still leading and guiding us. Here is an exercise in which, we practice listening.
The spiritual exercise outlined in this episode is a sort of examen-like practice for discerning the leading of the holy spirit in our lives. I hope it's useful to you!
Please reach out on twitter (@stevenhovater), and subscribe in your podcast app of choice!
Praying for our enemies is a difficult—but highly transformative spiritual practice rooted in the teachings of Jesus.
In this episode, we talk about why that's important, and share some tips on how you can move towards that practice.
Host: stevenhovater (twitter: @stevenhovater web: stevenhovater.com facebook: @stevenhovaterpage)
Take advantage of the practice of short "snacks" of prayer in the middle of your day!
This episode is about bouncing back when your prayer life takes a dive, and collapses. Don't be afraid to begin again!
This episode is about the practice of praying with your body.
Host: Steven Hovater (twitter: @stevenhovater)
This episode is about developing your capacity for silence.
host: Steven Hovater (twitter: @stevenhovater)
Here are my top ten tips for building community...these are the best steps I know of for developing relationships with people.
host: Steven Hovater (twitter: @stevenhovater)
The practice of spiritual community is one of the most fruitful tools in Christian spirituality.
In this episode, we begin with an understanding of the foundations of spiritual community: Community is built on what we hold in common, what we share.
Host: stevenhovater (twitter: @stevenhovater web: stevenhovater.com)
Part of becoming a person of prayer is learning to explore andunderstand its limits, or perhaps it is more accurate to say theplaces where pure prayer intersects with the rest of ourlives.
I'd love to connect with you on twitter! Catch mehere: @stevenhovater!
"Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner." This old prayer, which comes to us through the orthodox church, in which it has been used since at least 600 AD, is one of many short prayers that can be used repetitively as a way of moving our hearts towards stillness and quiet contemplation. This episode of spiritual steps explores how such a tool can be used to help us learn to be praying people.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about sharing the podcast in your social feeds, or leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
An important step in cultivating a life of prayer is crafting a prayer routine that works for you. Here are some reflections on what that's looked like for me, and some pointers on what crafting your own routine.
If you need a little bit of structure in your prayer routine but don't know where to start, here are a few helpful books that can provide a good starting place.
A Guide to Prayer for All Who Walk with God
Prayer wrestles with the same struggle as many of the church's practices in our day: an over reliance on emotional intensity. This episode is about allowing our prayer lives to take on other dimensions.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about sharing the podcast in your social feeds, or leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
Praying for the fruitfulness of God's work in the world, among our friends, neighbors, and churches, and in ourselves.
This episode explores the prayer of Paul in Colossians: “we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God.” (Colossians 1:9–10 NRSV)
It's an incredibly rich few lines of prayer that echo the Lord's Prayer.
Yay for episode 10!
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about sharing the podcast in your social feeds, or leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
Praying towards the fulfillment of God's work in the world, via the Lord's Prayer.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
Cultivate the virtues, one by one.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
Learn to pray on behalf of those who are suffering injustice!
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
This episode is about incorporating the Psalms, with their range of emotional tones, into your prayer life.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com)
Please think about leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
In a culture built on consumption, one of the best small spiritual steps you can take is one of small denial. This episode encourages you to incorporate mini-fasting into your spiritual life.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com
Please think about leaving a review of the show on iTunes!
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
Letting Go is hard, whether that's letting go of fear, guilt, hurt, grief, or any of the other weights that we carry around. This episode is about the prayer of letting go, a physical way of praying and releasing our grip on some of those things.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.
If you feel lost in the Bible, or get overwhelmed in its breadth, this episode points the way forward by providing a small step to help you engage in the scriptures.
Host: Steven Hovater (Twitter: @stevenhovater Web: stevenhovater.com
You might also be interested in my podcast The Craft of Ministry, which is about developing key capacities for ministry.