A Heart Knowing of God

I just started reading a new book. It’s been inspiring me. It’s called Secret Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship and Direction.

In Secret Companions the author David Benner talks about becoming a great lover.
He says “When the thing about me that I most deeply know is that I am deeply loved by God, I have taken the first step toward a heart knowing of God.“

Teresa of Avila talks about the heart knowing of God in her book Interior Castle in it she talks about the deepening intimacy with God and how it is achieved through love- not simply knowledge- and that this knowing of God is a knowing of the heart, not simply a knowing of the head, it’s falling in love with the Lord.

But falling in love with the Lord can only happen if we allow ourselves to receive his love experientially.

Benner talks about our need to experience the love of God. We need to allow ourselves to focus on him and his love for us- not just our love for him.

Through this practice of receiving God’s love, and experientially knowing in our hearts that we are deeply loved, we can then begin to see others through God’s eyes and in turn love others.

How often I approach this backwards- thinking I need to try harder to be a loving person- when really what I need is to be soaked in God’s love so it can overflow out onto other people!

It’s definitely a process and I miss the mark often but what a relief that it all begins with receiving. And what a relief that God is so keen to give over and over again.

Author: Erica Petrowski

Married for over 15 years and a stay at home mother of 4. I have a bachelor's degree in Interior Design, an associates degree in fine arts and years of experience in customer service. I rededicated my life to Jesus in 2000, & hail from Long Island New York. My Husband and I moved to Arizona in January of 2011. View all posts by Erica Petrowski