4 Practical Tips on How to Love God

Do you desperately desire to know God more?

How you love God will determine the depth of the relationship you will have with him, so it’s important to understand how to love God. Doing so will allow you to live a fruitful life and not be overcome by anything the enemy throws at you. 

Having a deep love for God will drive you to be the person you desire to be and satisfy all the longings you have in your heart. It’s an all-consuming, self-sacrificing act to put God before yourself… but it’s necessary to live your best life. 

When you learn how to love God, you are able to fully embrace who he made you to be and walk in his purposes. He made you in such a way that you are able to love him and in turn love people as well as yourself. 

It’s not always easy to know how to love God more deeply. I often pursued the love of others, which stopped me from seeking to love God first. It had to do with my need to be liked and accepted. 

I desperately desired to be liked because I thought it would bring the love and happiness I was constantly searching for. But when I came to know God and learned that I was loved by him, this need for approval from others became less and less and my love for God became greater.

When you know the depth of his love for you, then you can fully strive to love him. It changes you and also changes where you are seeking love. He loves you so much. 

How to Love God More Than Anything

Showing God that you love him means that you deny yourself. This is an everyday choice. 

“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” (John 15:13, NIV)

How to love God more than anything means putting aside your desires to pursue his will over your own. It means being self-sacrificial and living the life he outlined for you.

When you live this way, you will then acquire life. 

“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.” (Matthew 16:25, NIV)

This means constantly battling the flesh to lay down your life for Jesus, but it’s worth it. You can rest in knowing that you always have the Holy Spirit to help you.

When God sees you striving to live in this manner, and seeking him above yourself, he sees the love you have for him. He showed his love for you when he came down to earth and sacrificed himself for you. You must try to live the same way.

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How to Love God

Loving God requires intentionality on your part. He wants you to experience his love and in turn love him. Therefore, you must know that you should be practicing daily spiritual disciplines. 

Below, I have outlined 4 practical tips on how to love God according to the Bible. 

1. How to Love God by Obeying His Word

God calls you to obey him. When you obey him, it shows him that you love him. 

Obeying him requires that you trust that he has the best for you and that you make a conscious commitment to do as he says. Knowing that he will not steer you in the wrong direction will help you to obey. 

Obeying him means following his word in the Bible and intently listening to it—not just following what you choose to, but everything that he says in it.

“Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” (John 14:23, ESV)

You should make it a daily practice to read his words in the Bible and evaluate them against how you are living your life now. Make a practical plan on how you will change to live out his word. 

Maybe you need to stop complaining or stop sinful behavior. Let his words change you so you can love him more. Obeying his word is radically loving him. 

2. How to Love God by Worshiping Him

God wants all of you. He wants you to seek him and look to him above anything else. 

He wants you to live for him in truth and with your whole being. Your intent to live this way and give him all of yourself is an act of worship. 

God knows your heart and cares about it. He wants you to worship him only. 

“Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4:23-24, NIV)

Worshiping him needs to be your priority if you are to love him. That starts with your heart posture and then can be demonstrated practically in your everyday life. 

This requires you examining your motivations for why you are doing something. Analyze your thoughts, making sure that everything you do is for him and aimed at bringing him glory and honor. 

How you interact with people needs to be intentional and for his purposes in order to show his love. 

You can worship God with everything he has given you by using it to make his kingdom known and advanced: you can be generous with your money by giving some to the poor and those in need; your words by encouraging others towards him; and your voice to sing praises to him. 

Everything you do—big and small—can be an act of worship to him. This how to love God: when you do everything for him and offer everything he has given you back to him to be used for his purposes. 

3. How to Love God by Praying to Him

You can show God that you love him by connecting with God through prayer. He desires to hear from you constantly about everything. 

Nothing is too insignificant to bring to God in prayer. It shows him that you love him because you are depending on him and acknowledging that you need his help. 

He is a good Father who loves to assist his children and wants to be involved in every aspect of your life. He wants you to openly and honestly share your heart with him. 

Jesus speaks to the disciples about how they should pray and be persistent in it:

“Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.” (Luke 18:1, NIV)

When you do this, you are showing God that you know he will move and that you believe in the power of prayer. 

You can make it a point to pray daily about everything, at any time of the day. When troubles come along or when you have a big decision to make, pray. Praise him in prayer for his good gifts and provision. You can even pray the scriptures. 

However and whenever you pray, know that God knows you personally and deeply desires to hear from you.

4. How to Love God by Keeping his Commands

God asks certain things of you. This is common in relationships—that there is give and take. 

Whatever he asks of you is meant to help you live the good, righteous, purposeful life you want.

He knew that we were not capable of following the laws in the Old Testament without him. He thus sent his son Jesus to create a new covenant with us.

In the New Testament, when the Pharisees asked Jesus about the greatest commandment, he said:

“Jesus replied: ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’” (Matthew 22:37-40, NIV)

You must aim to love God, love people and love yourself. 

You can do this by putting him first in your life by possessing a humble heart. 

Because of his great love for you, you will want to love others. Pray for others. Share the gospel with them. Share his love with your actions and words. 

Love yourself by knowing your identity in him; by reading the Bible. Take a sabbath. 

When you obey the commands of God, you show him that you love him. 

It’s so important that you put your relationship with God first. Denying yourself will show him that you love him. 

Obeying God, keeping his commands, worshiping him and praying to him are practical, everyday ways how to love God. God loves you so much and desires your love back. Our love for God should drive us; strive to love him and you will have an abundant life.