My House shall be called a house of prayer. Don’t be too hasty in looking at these words. These words tell us that God has a house, a residence, a place where his presence dwells. That place is the place of prayer. But there is a move we must make in the text to bring this truth home. In the OT the temple of God was where his presence dwelt. It no longer resided in a house made by man. 1Cor3:16ff, 6:19, 2Cor 6:16, Eph2:21. Our hearts, our lives are God’s temple. A temple that should be called a place of prayer, a place where the Father abides.

His presence has been brought to us and should fill us. 1John 3:1…We are called His Children….Eph 2:12ff-We have been brought near to God through the blood of Christ. We have a place in God’s home, a name that will never be cut off. Isa 56:5ff. God has adopted us and brought us together to be His house. Jesus says My house shall be called the house of prayer.

But you have made it a den of thieves. Here is the second truth we must see in this passage. The glorious temple,God’s presence was being robbed. The temple became a place where materialism flourished, Where dishonesty reigned, where religion became activity, where a relationship with God became an avenue to riches; The Bible teaches us that there will be people who will rob us of the experience of prayer. There are thieves who will steal from us the intimacy of the temple of God. The applications are immense. There are things that will rob us of our prayer experiences, of our relationship and intimacy with God. Things that will crowd out his voice and rob us of a rich experience with Him in prayer. They are the same things…materialism, business, religious activity for the sake of activity. If we are to enter into the house of prayer we must drive out the den of thieves from our hearts. The temple must be cleansed. Our hearts must be free from sin.

Notice what happens next in the passage…..People came to the temple to be healed. It became a place where God’s power flowed to the people. It became a place of prayer and praise. Notice the progression…First the temple is cleansed (purified, freed from sin), then it is declared to be a place of prayer…. Then the temple becomes a house of power where people came to experience the healing power of the son…Next it became a place of praise and worship.

Are you ready to make the same change? Are you tired of having your prayers bounce off the ceiling? Haven’t you lived the religion game too long? Don’t you want the intimacy of the father? Do you hunger for God’s power in your life? Do you want your life to be a place of purity, prayer, power and praise? I hope your answer is yes to the above. It all begins with a desire to cleanse the temple. WHAT MUST I DO?

First there must be a desire, zealousness, a passion, to clean house, to want more! Secondly you must use discipline to cleanse your hearts…. You must change your priorities, adjust your busy schedule for God, You must lay aside the trap of religion, you must become a person of prayer…Prayer must become your top priority.

Psalm 51

Perhaps you are at a place in your life where you want that relationship with God to lose its sterility? Right now invite Jesus to walk into your cluttered hearts and overturn the tables. Ask Him to drive out everything that is unclean, everything that robs you of intimacy with him. Ask Jesus to get rid of everything that is causing you to be less than a temple of God, a person of prayer. Ask Jesus to cleanse the temple of your heart and hasten prayer. Ask Jesus to help you get your priorities right!

Does your heart need to be cleansed from sin? Which sins? Have you put things before God, things that are robbing you of powerful prayer? Is there anything on your heart that is keeping your conscience from being clear? Are you too materialistic, too busy, religious but not the right way? Do you want more? Have you asked Jesus to overturn things in your life that are keeping you from a deep relationship with God? Why do you think the temple had to be purified first…? Why is prayer second…. Why is power third…? Why is praise fourth? Do we sometimes want the order reversed? Is God your highest priority? If he isn’t then what is? Does it really have the power to answer everything you want? Will you commit to pray for the temple of God? Will you take steps to becoming a house of prayer?