Small Teachings

You may say that progress is possible only through God’s Grace; but though My heart is soft as butter, it melts when there is some warmth in your prayer. Unless you make some disciplined effort, some spiritual striving, grace cannot descend on you. The yearning, the agony of the unfulfilled aim, that is the warmth that melts My heart. That is the anguish that wins grace.

And the Word Was God, p. 308

You need not glorify God because that may keep you at a distance from God. God is not new. He was there before your birth and He will be there eternally. Why should you glorify Him? You must take Him as your old friend. When you develop a new friendship, you speak to the person with respectful words. When he becomes an old friend, you treat him with liberty and feel free with Him. Devotees think they can please God by describing His glory. That is not true. You can melt His heart only with love. Plant the seeds of love. Let the water of good qualities flow on the dry land so the seeds can sprout. Fed by the rain of love, a seed will grow into a tree that shelters all.

Divine Discourse, April 1998