Three Free Apps to Aid in Your Spiritual Journey

Worrisome.  That’s how Publisher’s Weekly described me in their review of my book, The Wired Soul: Finding Spiritual Balance in a Hyperconnected World.   Here’s what they said:
                     While reviewing recent studies about brains and neural pathways, Rhodes strikes a more worrisome                          tone, but her conclusions are uplifting, empowering, and pragmatic. (you can read more of their                                review here).  
When you get me started, I admit I can be a bit worrisome about technology.  In fact, when I was writing the book, David Zimmerman, my incredible editor at NavPress, had to pull me back a few times from coming on too strong.  But truth be told, I have a love/ hate relationship with technology.  I hate its addictive properties and the way it is rewiring our brains so that we find it hard to practice critical spiritual disciplines like reflection or mindfulness.
 
ON THE OTHER HAND, I happily embrace the benefits that seem to pile up daily as we move through this digital revolution.  The challenge is how to make sure technology serves our needs, rather than it being our taskmaster. To that end, I thought I would share three of my favorite apps—one’s that I use regularly to enhance my spiritual journey and increase the depth of my relationship with God.  One caveat though--if you are one of those who can't focus or be still in God's presence, if you check your smartphone for emails, texts, messages, etc. etc., you might want to work on focus before you start adding apps!  But for the rest of you, here goes:

Blue Letter Bible App
I use my well-worn hard-copy Bible in my quiet times for reflection and meditation.  But when I want to understand what a word means or go deeper into the context of a passage, I love my BLB app.  With just a touch of a finger, I can discover Strong’s definitions, find out where the word is used in Scripture or what others say about it and how it is translated in a wide variety of versions.  

Echo Prayer App
This app is designed to help us pray—to remember what we are praying for and to note how and when God answers.  But the best part about it is that you can set the days you would like to be reminded for each prayer request.  It’s interface is beautiful and makes me feel peaceful about my prayer requests.

Re.minder App
I have used this app for all sorts of things for a few years now.  It is the best reminder app I’ve found.  For my spiritual life, I often have it remind me throughout the day of something God showed me in my quiet time so that I can remember it and reflect on it.  It has a “buzz” feature you can set for every minute or five minutes so you don’t miss the notification.  I once used it to remind me every minute to turn my heart toward God.  While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend that—it did give me  a great sense of how much of the time I am not even aware of God's presence.

I would love to hear about any apps that help you in your spiritual journey--let us know in the comment section!