Spiritual Practices

Loving God

Spiritual Practice: Perform all actions as a devotional offering to God. Whatever the results of those actions may be, place them—good or seemingly bad—at the feet of the Divine. This will spiritualize your actions and cultivate love for God.

Spiritual Practice: Concentrate on your heart—put your hand over your heart if it helps—and think of the person you love most in the world. Dwell on that love for several minutes, then transfer that feeling of love to God, realizing that God is the source of love and the creator of all.

Spiritual Practice: Thank God daily for everything in your life. Say the words of gratitude from the heart rather than your head. A strong feeling of gratitude is akin to a feeling of love. Gratitude awakens love.

Spiritual Practice: Sing a song, hymn, or chant that expresses your love for God. Sing it repeatedly for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, or even longer, and let the words come from your heart. The heart always needs to be involved when it comes to feeling and expressing love. Sometimes it can create a deep sense of devotional peace. It's especially powerful in a group.

Spiritual Practice: During your meditation period, or anytime you don't have to concentrate on what you're doing, repeat a short prayer or affirmation such as “Lord, I love you." Repeat this over and over from your heart. This method has been practiced by saints of all religions through the ages. St. Francis of Assisi used to repeat, over and over, “My God and my all."

Spiritual Practice: Feeling deep peace is a good springboard for feeling other spiritual emotions such as love and joy, so whatever helps you feel deeper and deeper peace is a practice that will help you feel greater love for God. Sometimes it can come over you at odd times. I went on a hike once during a retreat and felt such a deep peace in that quiet, natural setting that devotion to God naturally bubbled up from within.

Spiritual Practice: To know God is to love God, so perform those meditative actions that help you to know the Divine. Know God through meditation, meditative study of one spiritual passage, affirmation, and prayer. Deeply practice any one of these, and it will help you experience God as peace, joy, or love. That experience will deepen your love for God.