Let’s face it, it is time to admit that we can no longer go without the Internet. We love our devices but, what are they doing to our souls?

In an effort grow closer to God…

• We tried digital detoxing.
• We tried going on social media fasts.
• We tried erasing the addictive games.
• We tried to maintain inbox zero.
• We even tried going to the store instead of buying everything on Amazon.com

And we failed.

With every unlocking of our home screen, we swipe and scroll without control and we wonder with a tinge of guilt what we can do to live a spiritually charged life with our devices, because we certainly cannot live without them anymore.

If that sounds like you, I’ve got great news in this post. Allow me to present the 5 ways that you can use your technology to grow in your relationship with God.

Pray

There are millions of apps that can help you pray more using your device. I use only one, the Divine Office App on the regular, usually twice a day. The reason I only use one app to help me pray is simple, prayer is a natural state of Christian living and apps are not natural. I like to have my mind free from screens when I pray and to do that, I make sure to limit my capabilities of praying using technology. When I am preoccupied with a reminder “ding” that tells me it is time to pray, I am more likely NOT to pray (or feel guilty for not having prayed during the “ding” moment). When I can’t keep up with reading the Bible throughout the year, I tend to not focus on the spiritual depth of actually reading the Bible, which is its intended purpose.

The Divine Office allows me to replace my Breviary, which is a rather thick book with many ribbons that requires multiple pages to turn for each prayer. With the app, I can pray with the Liturgy of the Hours more efficiently, which frees up more time to do other things to solidify my soul.

Study

Holy men and women would from the past have given their limbs to have the same access to historical and Biblical documents we have today. Right now, you can find almost every religious archive to ever be recorded and read it for free (and in their original languages if you are a polyglot). Think about the possibilities of developing your love for God if only you focused your energy toward studying his marvels. Whether you are attracted to the philosophical proofs of his existence, the theological cases for his love and mercy, or even the scientific facts that lead us to honor his creations, there are limitless possibilities to knowing, loving and serving God when it comes to internet usage.

Here are two ways to get started:

• Enroll in online courses

Many universities and colleges offer online courses both for credit and for fun. My two favorites are Holy Apostles College and Seminary, which offers the lowest cost for their entirely online Masters and undergraduate programs as well as some free online courses to get you started.

Also, I’m partial to my online learning platform, the Dominican Institute, which offers courses for all ages (and it is always adding more).

• Hack your Spiritual Education

Search for answers to your theological and philosophical questions by sifting through websites, participating in online forums, and watching orthodox videos on the faith. I’ve learned more on the internet from YouTube than any other source and guess what? It was completely FREE. Granted, I had to be careful about who I learned from (there are a lot of crazies out there), but it is easy to find the ones who speak the truth. More importantly, the internet provides you with a wide spectrum of doctrines of which you can compare one with the others to successfully analyze who speaks more truth. You are no longer limited to listening to just your pastor, you have the whole world to learn from.

Create

Technology offers us a myriad of ways to be creative. The artist can now make digital paintings using highly advanced tier apps. The film enthusiast can create movies and post them instantly on YouTube for their fans to view. The writer can draft, edit, review, and even publish their own book and put it into the market without having to spend months working with a publisher to get their work into the world. You a creative side because you are made in his image and likeness and thus, you too have the ability to create. Capitalize on that desire and make something good, beautiful and true. The world needs your creativity because without it, you cannot evangelize.

Connect

The word “community” has taken on a new definition over the past decade. It has gotten to the point that teenagers who own devices spend more time interacting with people via screens than they do in the flesh and adults aren’t too far behind. An Instagram “like” takes the place of a spoken compliment about how much we like our friend’s new haircut. A Facebook “thumbs up” removes the need to tell a colleague why you too think dessert should be eaten at every meal because why reserve it for just dinner?

Technology has a tremendous amount of potential when it comes to building communities and strengthening the souls of those who log on. It is important to note that  nothing will ever be more valuable than the face-to-face interactions we have on a daily basis. There are huge benefits to physical proximity when it comes to the development of our minds, bodies, and hearts and if we commit ourselves to limiting our screen time to activities that enrich our community, we will have more time to take part in true, in-the-flesh interaction that our souls so direly need.

Here are a few suggestions when it comes to living out a Christian life while online:

• Post spiritual things on the internet, but mix them with other posts that are secular by nature, but still important to you. I post a lot about God, but I throw in a lot more about my family, Harry Potter, and the Detroit Pistons.
• Spend time analyzing your friends’ posts always looking for ways to enliven their spirituality.
• Send direct messages or emails over comments. They mean more and they don’t call attention to yourself, but they focus on the person you are connecting with. If you really want to go for a direct hit, send the person you are trying to communicate with a handwritten letter. THey’ll appreciate it more than you may ever know.

Retreat

Sometimes, we need to get away from our realities in order to examine our current state with more depth. So, we take a step back and perhaps a day off of our regular responsibilities to examine our conscious, figure out where we are in life, and where we want to be. This is called a “retreat” and it does wonders to our spiritual growth.

Many people retreat from their daily routines by pulling out their smartphones. However, I would argue that most of what we do on our phones during these times of “retreat” are not geared toward building up our spirituality. On the contrary, we distract ourselves from our responsibilities and ultimately, from God, because we are tempted to waste time instead of becoming more productive through our screen usage.

That’s why I would recommend taking a break from technology. To the extent that you are able (because I know we need to use it for work, school, etc) take a break from accessing your screen during a designated time each week. Replace the time you would typically be scrolling endlessly with something that will build up for faith, perhaps something from this list I’ve offered you in this blogpost.

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Technology has the capability of making our lives more efficient, more spiritual, more Christian. but we must be intentional about how we use it in order to make it work for our salvation and for those we serve.

There are countless other ways to live a good spiritual life in the digital age.

Comment below with the ways you use technology to grow in your faith.