Your prayer touches the very heart of true religion, and I rejoice to join you in it. It is a great thing to be concerned about the declension from first love, for the Lord Himself said, Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love, Revelation 2:4. To feel this loss and to mourn it is itself a mercy, and to cry for restoration is a work of grace.
What was our first love. In those early days after conversion, love being fervent, we had sweet liberty at the throne of grace. We were compelled to have time for prayer with God, not as a duty but as delight. We sat as Mary did, at the feet of Jesus, listening to His teaching in a posture of humility, having chosen that better part which shall not be taken away, Luke 10:42. Our faith was simple, our zeal was warm, our hearts burned with holy fear and joy. Why does God remember and prize so highly that early piety, that first faith and first zeal. It is because all that was good in us in those early days was His own work. If there was anything good in us, the Lord worked it all, and He does not forget His own work. He remembers your first prayers, your first praises, your first purging away of sin, and He delights to hear you again.
How did we lose it. By slow degrees we left it. Distractions crept in, the world with its cares, sin with its subtlety, and the evil one with his temptations drew us aside. Prayer grew brief and formal, the Word was read hastily, and the better part was exchanged for the many things that trouble and burden the soul. Therefore the word of the Lord is, Remember from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works, Revelation 2:5. To return is not by mere effort, for we love Him because He first loved us, 1 John 4:19. Our love is an effect flowing from a cause. It is not the result of effort, nor is it produced as a matter of duty. We love because He first loved us. Let your heart be directed again into the love of God, to see its central importance, that it is the source and center and fountain of all our salvation. When that love flows into your heart and abides there, it will bear on its surface the cream of love to God and love to your neighbor, according to the great command, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as thyself, Mark 12:30 and 31.
I pray that the Lord will give you that extra grace you seek, and the holy discipline to use it. Breathe a prayer now, even as Nehemiah did, who with the cup in his hand prayed to the God of heaven in a moment, and his prayer sped. So in every place, before study, before worship, before you speak to a soul of Christ, pray first. Ask for grace to put away distractions and to dig deeply into the Word this summer and throughout all your lives, not for a season only. Ask that you may be filled with power from on high, Acts 1:8, that the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace and holiness, Galatians 5:22 and 23, may abound in you, and that you may walk in holiness and edify the church, sharing the gospel and making disciples, baptizing and teaching obedience to all that Christ has commanded, Matthew 28:19 and 20, as those who love abounding must do. You cannot love God and be idle. Love to God will stir you up.
Let us pray together. Father, we thank Thee for Thy great love, that we love because Thou first loved us. Forgive us that we have left our first love. Restore unto us the light of that fire that once burned bright and clear. Help us to repent and to do the things we did at first, to pray in the Holy Spirit, to study Thy Word, to worship in spirit and truth, and to choose the better part at the feet of Jesus. Keep us from sin and from the evil one, and deliver us from distractions that choke the Word. Pour upon us grace and discipline to seek Thee earnestly, to bear Thy fruit, to walk in holiness, and to make Thy name known to our neighbors and to the nations. Let our love abound more and more, and may there arise out of our hearts the perfume of love to Thee, a spark of Thine eternal flame, which by Thy mercy shall never be quenched. Holy is Thy name, and we ask this in the name of Jesus our Lord. Amen.
Restore Our 1st Love Rev 2:4, Love God with All Our Heart, Soul, Mind, Will, Emotions, Physical Strength & Finances, Mk 12:30, and Love Our Neighbors as Ourselves, Mk 12:31, 1 Cor 13:1-14:3, Phil 2:1-11, Extra Grace to Pray, Study, Worship, Put away Distractions, "Choose the Better Part" as Mary, Luke 10:41-42, Naturally Edifying the Church, Sharing The Gospel, Make Disciples, "Do The Things We Did at First" Rev 2:5... Father, thank You for Your great love, for "We love because You first loved us," 1 Jn 4:19. We ask for a restoration of our first love, Rev 2:4. Help us "repent and do the things we did at first," Rev 2:5, i.e., when we were first saved [1]. Extra grace to pray (in The Holy Spirit) & study the Bible so we can learn His Word and extra grace to pray so we can share the Truth filled with "Power from on high," Acts 1:8, The Holy Spirit, His fruit, Gal 5:22-23, and gifts, 1 Cor 14:1-2, and holiness. Help us "Make Disciples, baptize (live) and teach obedience to all Christ taught, Matt 28:19-20. Protect us from distractions, sin and the evil one, Matt 6:13. Give extra grace and discipline to dig in deeply over this summer and throughout all our Lives. Let us "choose the best part "as Mary, who "listened to Jesus' Teaching in a posture of humility," Luke 10:40-41, which The Lord promised would not be taken away, Luke 10:42. Thank You so much for Your love, Holy is Your Name, in Jesus' Name.
