Clerics are awesome. They can fill many roles and playstyles from backline to the front. I had trouble finding my footing when I first started playing because I had some misconceptions about what a cleric should do. While clerics have the ability to heal it isn't a good use of tempo. On one turn I can heal about 8 HP which isn't helpful when my paladin is getting hit for 26 damage. Once I realized what the better spells are I realized how powerful clerics truly are.
Cantrips can be cast an unlimited number of times. They can't be changed so its very easy to get stuck with a bunch of bad ones. Even if thats the situation you're stuck in, eventually you'll get a 4th one and you can pick up Guidance. It's too powerful to pass up. Guidance lets people roll a d4 when doing an ability check. A lot of things require ability checks like jumping chasms, lockpicking, persuasion. I spam guidance out of combat because.
I like the idea of Thaumaturgy but it rarely sees use. My DM Ricardo runs a flavorful campaign and I always look for opportunities to act a fool and even then its hard to find usage for it. Spare the Dying is outclassed by a level 1 spell called Healing Word. The last cantrip I have is Sacred Flame which is basically a normal hit.
Like I said earlier, healing damage that has already been dealt is not a good use of time. Its better to prevent the damage from happening in the first place. This makes Bless a very powerful cleric spell. It grants 3 creatures an extra d4 dice on attack rolls and saving throws. Simply put it makes the party more accurate when attacking and more likely to avoid harmful effects. This spell stands head and shoulder over the other level one options for a few reasons. It works on 3 players, it doesn't have some prerequesite for the d4 to be rolled, and it does not disappear when the target attacks. Bless is so powerful that I build my strategy around this spell.
There are a few different spell cast types. Bless is concentration. Concentration spells break when casting another concentration spell or failing a constitution save after taking damage. Since I want bless up all the time I stay strapped with non concentration spells. Some good options are Healing Word, Guiding Bolt, Inflict Wounds, Aid, and Sanctuary. Healing Word is as bonus action that can ressurect people from a distance. Guiding Bolt deals damage and makes the next hit against the same target more accurate. Inflict wounds is 3d10s of nectrotic damage and Aid gives a session long HP increase to multiple party members. Sanctuary makes an ally harder to hit which in theory can be combined with other dodge improvements to make a friend unhittable. Then there's Spiritual Weapon.
Spiritual Weapon is a bonus cast spell that creats a floating, movable weapon as a bonus action. It only takes one spell slot to cast then it can be used to melee attack from long range as a bonus action. It does not interfere with Bless, its empowered by it. This combined with ordinary attacking puts out some real damage. It also makes playing more fun. My party does not have a strong front line. Discovering this spell made me realize that I can stand in the front and fight. After the mace comes the spiritual mace and with Bless, both are going to hit.
Bless is not the end all be all Cleric spell. Even if it was it would get boring to cast all of the time. In future sessions I'm looking cast Silence and Spirit Guardians as soon as I get 3rd Level Spells. Silence wrecks other spellcasters because most spells have a speaking component. Spirit Guardians slows and batters enemies around the caster. There was a time when I healed as a Cleric, now I don't have the time.