DAY 6 - HOUSE OF PRAYER

Matthew 21:12-13 Jesus entered the temple area and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. "It is written," he said to them, "'My house will be called a house of prayer,' but you are making it a 'den of robbers.'"

When each of us picture Jesus in our mind, most of us have a calm, gentle, and loving shepherd. Rarely do we picture our savior, engaged in righteous anger, overturning tables and chairs, and driving out those who were buying and selling in the temple. But the question I ask is "what got Him so upset?" The answer comes when we read what Jesus said: "My house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers."

When churches lose the focus of prayer, they lose. How can we engage in the battle against the enemy without it? We can't! How can we effectively reach those who do not know Christ? We can't! How can we worship and enter into God's Holy Presence? We can't! As I said in my sermon, God has not called church to be a house of music, nor did He call it to be a house of eloquently spoken sermons...He called it a "HOUSE OF PRAYER". Without prayer as our focus, we will miss the table God has set before us! And what does He say..."Taste and see that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8)."

So what does your house look like? Is it a House of Prayer? Does our church look like a House of Prayer? If not, what should our reaction be? What do we need to overturn? What needs to be driven out?

APPLICATION TO MY LIFE
1. Is my house a house of prayer? Why?
2. Does our church have the focus of prayer?
3. How can we make it our priority?
4. In our home and in our church, what needs to be driven out and overturned?

*Devotional thoughts inspired by sermon of Pastor Jim Cymbala and his book "Fresh Power"