Can The Place Where You Worship Truly Be Called A House Of Prayer?

Good Morning Friends

Since the time of Adam people have been bombarding heaven with their prayers and calling out in the name of God to solve their immediate plight. Some had been short prayers, some long prayers, most for self, but some for others, some out of sorrow, some out of praise, some private, some public, but the main thing is that people of God through the ages have learned that there is power in prayer. The prayer of Moses saved Israel, the prayer of Elisha raised the dead, the prayer of the Church rescued Peter, and the prayer of Pentecost led to 3,000 souls being saved. Jesus said, My house shall be called a house of Prayer. But most places we call church have made it anything but a house of prayer. I believe we have lost much of our power in the last few generations because of a lack of prayer. People do not know how to pray and discount something we should consider as important as our next breath. So, Can The Place Where You Worship Truly Be Called A House Of Prayer?

Scripture:Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh. At that time people began to call on the name of the Lord.

Genesis 4:26 (NIV)

Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

 Colossians 2:23 (NIV)

‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’^[As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’

Acts 17:28 (NIV)

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

John 4:23-24 (NIV)

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.

1 Chronicles 4:9-10 (NIV)

Message: There are times when prayer, just a simple prayer will prompt God to open Heaven and give us His blessing. But there are times when even after many prayers with sincerity and persistence we just do not see the results we had hoped for. Maybe we are being tested to see if we are willing to demonstrate our persistence and faith in an outcome. Maybe in the spiritual realm prayer…persistent prayer is the only way for our faith to be exercised and strengthened. Certainly, physical exercise is essential for our physical bodies. So too I think the exercise of prayer is necessary for our spiritual and church growth.

And So, powerful prayers are a key to every aspect in the Christian life and especially so when it comes to revival. There are no shortcuts when it comes to revival. And we all know the church desperately needs revival, but it is not going to come by a quick and easy method. True revival goes deeper than that. Revival hinges on persistent prayer that defines worship. When we think of our church home as a place of prayer first we begin to get the priorities in order.

Pray we realize that when we pray, we are in the presence of God beyond time and born anew. Pray that we realize that God loves us and knows all we need before we pray but that we need to pray anyway because God knows we need to pray first before a blessing so that it might glorify God in its giving. Pray we realize that our greatest need is God and that if God supplies all our lower needs first, we are missing something very important. Pray we realize that communion with God is the one need of the soul beyond all other needs and that prayer is the beginning of this communion and if it is born out of suffering that drives us to God then that is ok too. Pray our prayers be acts of worship. Pray we humble ourselves before God.

Blessings,

John Lawson