Do you ever think about how good it makes you feel when someone just looks you right in the eye and says, "I love you"? Of course, it depends on who it is but I'll tell you right off the bat that I throw those three words around a lot. This is because I don't ever want anyone to question where they stand with me. I love easily and so if you're my friend, you have probably heard me say those words before and I meant them.
When I was growing up, I once heard a pastor say, "we're really good at thanking God for things, but there is one thing that we can include in every prayer that changes everything." He then said, "Tell God that you love Him." After hearing that advice, it was a game-changer. It's not that God needs our love because God doesn't need anything, but rather it provides a greater perspective for us when we realize how loving God is even possible in the first place.
Beth Moore actually made this exact point once when she said:
"We really shouldn't tell God that we love Him. We should tell Him that we love Him too." - Beth Moore
The reality is that God is the great love initiator and the simple truth is that we love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:19) If there is even the slightest inkling in our hearts to tell God we love Him or to do something out of love for Him, it is because He has been drenching us in an ongoing onslaught of love since before we were born.
1 John 3:1 says:
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." - 1 John 3:1
So anytime it even occurs to you to tell God that you love Him, remember that it is your spirit responding to that tidal wave of love that He is always pouring out on you. So God, I love you too.