The other week my post was about how God never stops thinking about you. Today I offer you the opposite: how you can think of God during the day.

When you love God and are convinced that God loves you, frequently he is on your mind. In this case, not absence but thinking makes the heart grow fonder. The more you think about God, the epitome of truth, goodness, and beauty, the more deeply you love him. The more you reflect on God’s relentless love for you, the more likely it is that you cultivate a passionate love for God. Here are ten practices you might adopt:

Tips for Staying Mindful of God

1.  As soon as you awake, think of God, who graciously grants you another day of life. When you retire, remember times you pleased your loving Creator as well as times you disappointed him. With a thankful heart review the blessings God showered on you that day. Then entrust yourself to divine care as you sleep.

 2. When I was a novice, a convent bell rang each hour to signal it was time to pray the “hour prayer.” This custom ensured that we would lift our minds and hearts frequently to our Lord. Although you don’t have an hour bell, during the day turn your thoughts often to God: when you behold a brilliant sunrise setting the sky on fire, yellow roses blooming in your garden, autumn leaves splashed with the warm colors of the rainbow, or the antics of your Siamese cat. Think of God with gratitude as you enjoy his personal gifts—a wonderful friend or spouse, a talent you possess, unexpected good fortune. Especially in happy times and in trying times, be keenly aware of God.

3. Designate a particular action as a cue for recalling God like a little electric shock. One woman thinks of God whenever she touches a doorknob. For another person, climbing stairs brings him to mind. Some people keep a small stone or other object in their pocket to remind them of God.

4. Place objects in your home and workplace that will evoke thoughts of God: a crucifix, a Bible, palm, a religious picture, statue, plaque, bookmark, keychain, screen saver, or magnet on the refrigerator. Display some of these items on a prayer altar along with a candle and something from nature such as a plant, flowers, colorful leaves, and a shell. Pray there.

5. Dwell on significant favors God bestowed on you over the years. Maybe you survived a life-threatening surgery or won a lottery. Because memories tend to dissipate like a wisp of smoke, you record these love-gifts in a special book. Periodically review them to remember and relish them anew. These memories make you feel as though God were giving you a warm embrace.

6. Author Flannery O’Connor said, “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” Write in a journal because your entries uncover what you think about God. They also reveal what is happening in your spiritual life and shed light on your relationship with God. Your journal contains a history of your spiritual growth and your deepening love for God. Later read over what you wrote and annotate your entries.

7. Occasionally rein in your wild thoughts and focus on God. Ponder your divine Lover: his holiness, glorious divine attributes, and activity. Reflect on God’s words in Scripture and commit some of them to memory. Meditate on the life of Jesus. Delve deeply into the meaning of the Gospel stories as St. Ignatius of Loyola advised—by bringing them to life in your imagination, incorporating your five senses. Let an episode in Jesus’s life play out in your mind like a movie in which you are a character.

An Example: The Storm at Sea

Picture Jesus sound asleep on the cushion as rain pelts him. Visualize the towering waves and feel the violent rocking of the boat. See the lightning bolts, smell the ozone they produce, and hear the cracks of thunder. Buffeted by the wind, hear it whistling, and see it whipping the sails and the apostles’ tunics. Feel seawater splashing your face and swirling about your feet in the bottom of the boat. Picture the apostles’ panic-stricken faces and hear their voices hoarsely calling on Jesus to wake up and rescue them. Then watch as Jesus opens his eyes, gets up, and raises an arm over the roiling waters. Hear him command, “Peace! Be still!” Be stunned by the sudden quiet.

8. Take a contemplative walk through a park or a forest or along a beach. In the midst of nature, peacefully ponder the Creator of all things. Or sit calmly in your backyard, surrounded by its quiet beauty. Within your house, soak in the exquisite play of leaf shadows on the wall, the delicate, velvety petals of your orchid, or the cozy warmth of the burning logs in your fireplace.

9. Focus. Often during prayer or Mass, you are distracted by things like pressing problems, the woman coughing beside you, and what to have for dinner. Sometimes as your eyes glide over the words of a prayer or your lips form the words, your brain is running along another track. Struggle to focus your mind like a laser beam on God and on the meaning of the prayers.

10. Respond to God. Teacher Bernard Overberg wrote,

“When God gives me a thought about himself without my having sought it, he, so to say, greets my soul. Then I should return his greeting by allowing my thoughts to linger somewhat on him and by saying a few words to him interiorly. For example: God, stand by me! or All for your love!”

Benefit of Thinking of God

Thinking of God brings about serenity and a sense of well-being even when you are caught in a traffic jam or lying on a hospital bed. A friend who was hospitalized and facing surgery was petrified. Then, a crucifix on the wall facing her reminded her of God’s immense love for us. Remarkably, she experienced that God was with her to the extent that she physically experienced his protective hand holding her. She even felt the spaces between his fingers. And with that, her fear of the future ordeal evaporated.

Etymologically the word think is the root of thank. Thinking about God makes your heart overflow with thankfulness for his abundant love and bountiful blessings. No wonder St. Gregory of Nazianzus recommended, “We ought to remember God more often than we breathe.”

• What places or experiences prompt you to think of God?

• What cue to remember God will you choose: inserting an electric plug, getting into a car, turning on the television, or another usual action?

• Which Gospel story appeals to you for an Ignatian-style meditation?

• What memories of God’s goodness to you fill you with joy today?