Prayer, Soul Care, and Spiritual Tenacity: A Conversation with Dr. Rev. Barbara Peacock

How can we deepen our spiritual lives through stillness, surrender, and sacred tradition? In this episode, Dave speaks with Reverend Dr. Barbara Peacock about spiritual formation through an African American lens, focusing on prayer, soul care, and spiritual direction. Barbara shares her theological journey, personal struggles with depression and burnout, and the inspiration behind her book Soul Care and African American Practice. She explores historical connections to spiritual practices like Lectio Divina, linking them to notable figures in the African American community. The conversation emphasizes resilience, trust in God, and passive spirituality— inviting listeners to experience God’s love through stillness and surrender.

Takeaways:

• Spiritual Tenacity: Barbara discusses the importance of spiritual tenacity and perseverance, linking it to her heritage and personal experiences. She emphasizes that tenacity is essential for surviving and thriving in adversity, a theme that resonates throughout the Bible and African American history.
• Takeaway: Embrace a posture of spiritual resilience by trusting God through challenges. Draw strength from personal and communal histories of perseverance.
• Receiving God's Love: Barbara emphasizes the power of passive spirituality—pausing, resting, and allowing yourself to be loved by God—as foundational to spiritual growth.
• Takeaway: Create space in your daily rhythm for stillness. Practice pausing to welcome God’s presence without striving.
• Lectio Divina and Sacred Reading: She introduces Lectio Divina as a slow, prayerful way of engaging scripture, using Frederick Douglass as a historical example of this contemplative approach.
• Takeaway: Read scripture slowly and meditatively. Choose one verse a day and let it guide your reflection, prayer, and attention to God.
• Soul Care in Historical Context: Barbara links soul care and spiritual direction to the communal practices of enslaved Africans, who leaned on prayer, love, and mutual support during pivotal times, such as the Middle Passage journey.
• Honor the spiritual wisdom passed down through your community. Engage in practices that connect personal faith to collective healing.
• Dark Night of the Soul: Connecting the theology of St. John of the Cross to African American suffering, Barbara reflects on how spiritual darkness can lead to deeper trust and transformation.
• When experiencing uncertainty or despair, remain open to God’s work in the unknown. Transformation often begins in the dark.

Quote of the Show:

• “ Being silent and being still are imperative for the formative journey. ” - Barbara Peacock
• “ Prayer undergirds every effective work.  Jesus always went away to pray.” - Barbara Peacock
• “ While in chains, many slaves express great faith in God– the only one who could  deliver them from such inhumane circumstances… It was on those slave ships making the middle passage  that we find the origins of African-American spiritual direction and soul care.” - Barbara Peacock

Links:

• Website:  barbaralpeacock.com ,  peacockselfcare.com
• Book Link: https://www.ivpress.com/soul-care-in-african-american-practice
• X/Twitter: https://x.com/BarbaraLPeacock?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor