House of Prayer

John 2:14-15,NLT- In the Temple area He saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices; He also saw dealers at tables exchanging foreign money. Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables.

 

Matthew 21, Mark 11, Luke 19, Jesus said, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”

 

The scripture says, My house will be a house of prayer. Today we would say His church, both individually and corporately are His temple. A living house of prayer. Individually and corporately.

 

As we get into our talk, something that’s a continued work in my life is the awareness of just who I’m talking too.

 

During our last prayer night there Lord gave me a word about us “stepping into to something”

 

I had no idea at that moment what that was, and I’m still not a 100%. But part of it is the change concerning Wednesday night prayer.

 

I believe God is leading us into something corporate, something that’s going to unify us as a body to a much higher degree.

 

The longer I walk with the Lord, I am convinced that the most important reality of prayer is how we experience a divine relationship with our Father through fellowship.

 

Prayer is not only an avenue of fellowship with God living in us, it’s also how a human, born of His world navigates that world.

 

Hebrews 4:14-16,NKJV- Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

I bring this passage up to highlight the coming into His presence boldly more than simply coming to get something. I’m hoping we can all leave here with a better understanding that ultimately, our Father, the Almighty simply wants to hang out with His kids.

 

Let’s look at prayer from a natural perspective for a second, maybe from the viewpoint of a parent and a child; When children are young and immature, their primary communication is getting their needs met.

 

But as they grow and mature, the relationship dynamic changes to one more of fellowship.

 

I honestly believe that the most significant aspect of quality prayer is centered around our relationship with our Father.

 

Go back to Genesis, it becomes very clear that God’s intention from the beginning is to be El Shaddai for all His people.

 

As a matter of fact, according to Philippians 4, God will supply all of our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

Think about Adam, what did he need as far as provision? So what do you think his prayer life was about? What if God’s main thing He’s looking for is exactly what He lost with Adam, and that is simply a relationship with His creation.

 

The Apostle Paul takes us a little further in Ephesians by giving us some excellent insight into some of the things we should be praying about.

 

Ephesians 1:20-23,NKJV- ...according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

 

Notice the Holy Spirit led Paul to pray that they would be able to recognize what He’s already done.

 

In that same chapter He also says this, The Lord Jesus Christ,  HAS BLESSED us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ...

 

Ephesians 2, Jesus made us alive and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

 

Peter adds that God has given usexceedingly great and precious promises, that through these we may be partakers of His divine nature.

 

Don’t kid yourself, operating in this world only happens by faith. In others words, we’ve gotta believe this stuff.

 

Hebrews 11:6,NLT- “It’s impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to Him must believe that God exists and that He rewards those who sincerely seek Him.”

 

Get this settled in your spirit, we will never operate in God’s world without believing in it. Remember, “It’s impossible to please Gods without faith.”

 

Let me throw this in here, worrying to God isn’t praying.

 

Probably the best way of overcoming worry is worship. And worship is key component of prayer.

 

Think about it, if you’re needing to see it to believe it, how can you honestly pray to a God you can’t see? “Anyone who come to God must believe that He is...”

 

Mark 11:24, Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

 

Now I’m not talking about some kind of mind game where we’re pretending to believe something’s real that isn’t.

 

I’m talking about functioning in a world beyond our natural one. The just shall live by faith.

 

The moment the born again actually choose to believe, we have Divine access to God’s world, with the ability to bring its realities into our world.

 

Believing connects us to God’s ever existing power. This is faith.

 

Faith is the bridge between the two worlds. According to Hebrews, faith is substance of things, hoped for.

 

But because God only has imperfect people to work through, many times His power is hindered because of our unbelief.

 

Truth is, we honestly haven’t accepted the fact that is really that simple, “Only Believe”

 

But as we’re transformed, our believing starts overriding doubt and we start seeing greater results.

 

And this is why ultimately, prayer has to be about us fellowshipping with our Father.

 

So a healthy prayer life, a lifestyle if you will, is growing to the place where we’re able to fellowship with Him right in the middle of our daily routine.

 

Keep in mind, the enemy, and most definitely human nature will constantly pull against the things of the Spirit.

 

So if we’re always looking to our intellectual, carnal world to confirm a world that makes no sense to our humanity, then faith and prayer will always be that mysterious thing we’re always a little unsure of.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6,MSG- Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He’s the one who will keep you on track. Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to GOD! 

 

There is a Kingdom of Heaven principle here that we can all grow in, and it all starts with an element of trust. There is this supernatural life connected with simply hanging out with our Father.

 

One of our primary purposes with prayer night is creating an atmosphere where we’re all drawing closer, discovering prayer on a more relational level.

 

Remember, more things are caught than taught.

 

So the more time we simply fellowship with God, the more His nature, personality, His attitude becomes ours.

 

Proverbs 3 actually becomes part of who we are and this world no longer has the same influence.

 

Think about this way, can you honestly have a Proverbs 3 kind of trust in someone you don’t know?In Timothy, Paul really sums it up perfectly, “I know the one in whom I trust.”

 

This is why the Holy Spirit instructs us in Ephesians to not live so carelessly and unthinking, but to make sure we comprehend what Jesus actually did for us.

 

And the longer I walk with the Lord, I am convinced that the most important reality of prayer is how we experience our relationship with the Father, with our King and with It’s an avenue of fellowship with our King, and with the Holy Spirit living in each born-again believer.

 

And even though we’re having a special night we gather as a family for prayer, in your personal life, instead of trying to make prayer this special thing you do from time to time, practice making prayer a lifestyle, an all day kinda thing.

 

Learning to fellowship with God right in the middle of our daily routine.

 

James 5:16,AMP- “The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man makes tremendous power available, dynamic in its working.”

 

Worrying to God isn’t prayer.

 

Possibly one of the best practices we can develop is an awareness of just who we’re talking too.