Silas
Beloved of All
Your longing to worship the Father in spirit and in truth and to draw near to Him with confidence is beautiful and right, and it is exactly what God invites us to do. Scripture says in John 4:23 that the Father seeks such worshipers, and in Hebrews 4:15 and 16 we are told we have a merciful High Priest who understands our weaknesses and who has opened the way for us to come boldly to the throne of grace. We do not come to a bar of justice to present our works and ask for payment, we come to a throne of grace to obtain mercy and to find grace to help in our time of need. There is one Mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ, as 1 Timothy 2:5 teaches, a Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek according to Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 7, and through Him alone we have access to the Father.
You described this grace as freely received, like a child in the womb receiving nourishment without earning it, or like branches receiving life giving sap from the vine. That picture is true to John 15 where Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches. As we remain in Him, His life flows into us naturally and fruit follows, not by straining but by abiding. The goal you mentioned from 1 Timothy 1:5 is also right, that our teaching would lead to love from a pure heart, a sincere faith without contradiction, and a clear conscience. That kind of life grows as we give ourselves to knowing what the Holy Spirit has said in His Word from beginning to end and handling it accurately, as 2 Timothy 2:15 urges, so that we do not misrepresent our perfect God.
I pray that wisdom will enter your heart and that knowledge will become pleasant to your soul. When that happens, discretion will guard you and understanding will keep you and deliver you from crooked paths and flattering words that lead astray. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to love wisdom and keep sound discretion is to find life for your soul and grace for your walk, so that you can walk safely without stumbling and lie down without fear. Keep your heart fixed on the Lord rather than divided between His will and your own desires. A single, united heart that retains His words and keeps His commandments finds rest and confidence in Him. Like David you can say, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise, and you can pray evening and morning and at noon with the confidence that He hears your voice.
I also join you in asking for what you listed. May the Lord draw you near as you draw near to Him according to James 4:8, and renew your first love. May He give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better as in Ephesians 1:17, and open your understanding of the Scriptures as in Luke 24:45. May He strengthen you in your inner being to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love that passes knowledge, as in Ephesians 3:16 to 19, and fill you with the knowledge of His will with all wisdom and understanding so you may walk in a manner worthy of Him, bearing fruit as in Colossians 1:9 to 11 and John 15:7 and 8. May He give you wisdom and power to make and carry out the plans that are needed and to meet pressing needs, as in Titus 3:14.
I pray for clarity and order in your daily work, since God is not a God of confusion but of peace as in 1 Corinthians 14:33, for happy grace in ordinary chores, for fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and with your family, friends and coworkers as fellow workers with God, and for simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ as in 2 Corinthians 11:3. I pray that you would proclaim repentance and forgiveness in Jesus' name as in Luke 24:47, with faith and assurance as in John 20:31 and 1 John 5:13, and that fresh repentance would restore the joy of His salvation as in Psalm 51:12 and 13 so that others may be turned to Him.
And I agree with you in asking for protection. May the Lord deliver you from temptation and evil as in Matthew 6:13, keep you from being a stumbling block to others and keep stumbling blocks out of your path as in Romans 14:13 and 1 Corinthians 8:9 and 10:32, and guard you from sin, from deceptive people and from the evil one as in John 17:15. May He keep you from the way of those who speak perverse things and from all deception, and may His presence and His ministering help surround you.
If His people humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from wicked ways, He has promised to hear from heaven and forgive and heal. He is faithful to perform His word. May you continue to come boldly through Jesus to receive mercy and grace freely, to abide in Him, and to grow in the wisdom that preserves and keeps you. In the name of Jesus our great High Priest we pray, Amen.
You described this grace as freely received, like a child in the womb receiving nourishment without earning it, or like branches receiving life giving sap from the vine. That picture is true to John 15 where Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches. As we remain in Him, His life flows into us naturally and fruit follows, not by straining but by abiding. The goal you mentioned from 1 Timothy 1:5 is also right, that our teaching would lead to love from a pure heart, a sincere faith without contradiction, and a clear conscience. That kind of life grows as we give ourselves to knowing what the Holy Spirit has said in His Word from beginning to end and handling it accurately, as 2 Timothy 2:15 urges, so that we do not misrepresent our perfect God.
I pray that wisdom will enter your heart and that knowledge will become pleasant to your soul. When that happens, discretion will guard you and understanding will keep you and deliver you from crooked paths and flattering words that lead astray. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and to love wisdom and keep sound discretion is to find life for your soul and grace for your walk, so that you can walk safely without stumbling and lie down without fear. Keep your heart fixed on the Lord rather than divided between His will and your own desires. A single, united heart that retains His words and keeps His commandments finds rest and confidence in Him. Like David you can say, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise, and you can pray evening and morning and at noon with the confidence that He hears your voice.
I also join you in asking for what you listed. May the Lord draw you near as you draw near to Him according to James 4:8, and renew your first love. May He give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation to know Him better as in Ephesians 1:17, and open your understanding of the Scriptures as in Luke 24:45. May He strengthen you in your inner being to grasp the breadth and length and height and depth of Christ's love that passes knowledge, as in Ephesians 3:16 to 19, and fill you with the knowledge of His will with all wisdom and understanding so you may walk in a manner worthy of Him, bearing fruit as in Colossians 1:9 to 11 and John 15:7 and 8. May He give you wisdom and power to make and carry out the plans that are needed and to meet pressing needs, as in Titus 3:14.
I pray for clarity and order in your daily work, since God is not a God of confusion but of peace as in 1 Corinthians 14:33, for happy grace in ordinary chores, for fellowship with the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit and with your family, friends and coworkers as fellow workers with God, and for simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ as in 2 Corinthians 11:3. I pray that you would proclaim repentance and forgiveness in Jesus' name as in Luke 24:47, with faith and assurance as in John 20:31 and 1 John 5:13, and that fresh repentance would restore the joy of His salvation as in Psalm 51:12 and 13 so that others may be turned to Him.
And I agree with you in asking for protection. May the Lord deliver you from temptation and evil as in Matthew 6:13, keep you from being a stumbling block to others and keep stumbling blocks out of your path as in Romans 14:13 and 1 Corinthians 8:9 and 10:32, and guard you from sin, from deceptive people and from the evil one as in John 17:15. May He keep you from the way of those who speak perverse things and from all deception, and may His presence and His ministering help surround you.
If His people humble themselves and pray and seek His face and turn from wicked ways, He has promised to hear from heaven and forgive and heal. He is faithful to perform His word. May you continue to come boldly through Jesus to receive mercy and grace freely, to abide in Him, and to grow in the wisdom that preserves and keeps you. In the name of Jesus our great High Priest we pray, Amen.
