The sigh of a soul that pants after God is sweet incense before the throne. When the heart cries out for grace to worship in spirit and truth, for mercy from the Mercy Seat, for wisdom to walk worthily, and for fruit that abides to the glory of the Father, it is a work of the Spirit Himself teaching us what to pray. These are no idle words; they are the longings of a renewed heart, and it delights the Lord to hear them.
You ask for grace to worship the Father in the Holy Spirit and truth. This is no small request, for the Father seeks such to worship Him. And from where does such worship rise but from a heart that has returned to its first love? I would press this upon you with all tenderness: do not let the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, become a fading memory. The Lord remembers it still, and He cherishes those early tokens of affection, your first prayers, your first zeal, your first tears of repentance. If that fire has dimmed, remember from where you have fallen, and do the first works. Communion with Christ is the fuel of pure worship; neglect it, and the flame sinks into ash. Abide in Him as the branch in the vine, and the life-sap of His grace will produce not only worship but the luscious clusters of fruit that come without striving, apart from Him we can do nothing.
You plead for mercy and grace to help in time of need, drawn freely from the throne through our merciful High Priest. Come, then, with boldness! The throne of grace is not a throne of rebuke for those who are in Christ. He gives liberally and upbraids not. When you lack wisdom, and we all lack it, ask in faith, nothing wavering. Do you need wisdom to know His will, to walk in a worthy manner, to make and accomplish plans that bear fruit for His kingdom? Ask, and it shall be given. The Lord can give wisdom ready-made; He can make the simple prudent and guide the perplexed into a straight path. Only let your asking be mingled with faith, for a man who has no wisdom can yet have faith, and faith honors God and opens His hand.
I perceive in your request a holy desire for simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ, a conscience without offense, and a love that flows from a purified heart. This is the goal of our teaching, and it is a blessed goal indeed. But mark this: love and purity go together. He that loves much is pure; he that loves little shall find his purity decrease, until it becomes marred and polluted. If you have lost your first love, what should hinder you from losing your first purity? Therefore, guard your heart with all diligence. Let Christ be first, yourself last, and nothing between but love. That love, divine and immeasurable, proven by an immeasurable gift, is an abiding love. He cannot love you more; He will not love you less. Let that truth anchor your soul and constrain your steps.
You speak of teams and fellowship, of tending vineyards and keeping gardens, of joint labor in God’s field. This is practical wisdom. But let every laborer see to it that his own soul is first saved, first enlivened with the love of Christ. How can you have a blessing in the saving of others if your own soul is not first filled? Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these duties, these chores, these pressing needs, will fall into holy order. Be first a man or woman of God, after that, a worker in the vineyard. Let all things be done with the clarity and order that reflect our God, who is not the author of confusion but of peace.
As for protection from temptation, from stumbling blocks, from imposters and the evil one, it is a daily necessity. The world is a painted viper, and we walk amid snares. But greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Keep close to the cross, go back continually to first principles, to the great foundation stone, Christ crucified for you. There is safety in that shadow; there the darts of the wicked one fall blunted. Let the proclamation of repentance and forgiveness be ever on your lips, and as you do so, the joy of your own initial forgiveness will be restored, and sinners will be converted by the sight of a happy, holy saint.
Love your Lord, or die! If your love has grown cold, tell Him so. Rehearse His deeds of grace towards you. Sit down, or kneel, or walk, and say, “My gracious Lord, I do love You. Teach me to love You more.” He joys in your love, however feeble; He sees in it a spark of His own eternal flame. May that love abound, may it lament its own coolness, and may it abide constant to Him who first loved you. Eat and drink all the stores of the banquet of love; let nothing lie by. And as you receive freely, so pour out freely, that your fellowship with the Trinity and with the saints may be full of light and sweetness, drawing the lost into the same blessed communion.
Go forward, then, in the name of the One Mediator, our Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. He ever lives to intercede for you. His love is practical, immeasurable, and unchanging. Rest in it, work from it, worship through it. And may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in His sight.
Grace to Worship The Father in The Holy Spirit & Truth, Jn 4:23, Receive Free Mercy and Grace from The Throne of Grace with Confidence through Jesus Christ our Merciful High Priest, Heb 4:15-16, (The One Mediator between God and Man, 1 Tim 2:5), The Perpetual "Priest forever according to the Order of Melchizedek," Ps 110:4, Heb 7:15, to freely receive mercy and find grace for help in time of need, Heb 4:16 (as a baby in the womb receives nutrients from its mother's umbilical cord freely without having done anything to deserve or earn the nutrition), Connection to Vine, John 15:1-2, (as the branches, and leaves receive the life-giving sap from the grape vine quite naturally and then produce luscious grapes quite effortlessly). For the GOAL of Our Teaching is Love from Purified Heart, a Faith with no Contradiction, and a Conscience without any charges of which we are cognizant, 1 Tim 1:5, Study to know what The Holy Spirit says in His Word accurately from cover to cover so we are not teaching error which would be shameful and misrepresent a Perfect God, 2 Tim 2:15, Holy Spirit's Strength to Know Dimensions of Christ's Love to Overflowing, Eph 3:16-19, Wisdom to Know God's Will Perfectly and Walk it out in a Worthy Manner, Col 1:9-11 Wisdom and Power to Make & Accomplish Needed Plans, Tit 3:14, Fruit, Jn 15:7-8 
Heavenly Father, we thank You for nearness to God James 4:8, first love renewals Rev 2:4, ability to take care of our own vineyards, Song 1:6, tend our gardens & keep them Gen 2:15. Holy Spirit of Wisdom & Revelation to Know God Eph 1:17, The Word Lk 24:45, Study 2 Tim 2:15, Intercession 1 Tim 2:1-4. Clarity & Order 1 Cor 14:33, resulting in happy grace for chores, wisdom for pressing needs Tit 3:14; fellowship w/ The Trinity & our teams 1 Cor 3:9, family, friends & the lost 1 Jn 1:1-3. Simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ 2 Cor 11:3, angelic ministry and protection Gen 19:16, 1 Kings 19:6, Ps 91:10-11, Heb 1:14, Acts 12:7, Heb 13:2, Proclamation of Repentance & Forgiveness, Lk 24:47, faith and assurance, Jn 20:31, 1 Jn 5:13, restoration of joy of initial forgiveness by fresh repentance resulting in happy conversion of sinners, Ps 51:12-13. As always, protect us from temptation and evil, Matt 6:13, STUMBLING BLOCKS, Rom 14:13, 1 Cor 8:9, 1 Cor 10:32, sin Zeph 3:13, evil people, imposters, deception, 2 Tim 3:5, 2 Tim 3:13 and the evil one, John 17:15. Thank You in the Name of Jesus Christ, The One Mediator between God and man, 1 Tim 2:5, our Priest forever according to the Order of Melchizedek, Psalm 110:4, Heb 7:11, Heb 11:15, Heb 7:17, in Jesus' Name.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
