God’s House, a House of Prayer

How many go to God’s House, the church, and are there to be seen and are not truly there to commune with God and fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ. This morning I am in the book of Isaiah continuing my study of the word “prayer”. I find that just going to the House of the LORD, is not the point. There is much more that we are called for, beyond just showing up.

“⁶And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD,

to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD,

and to be his servants,

everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it,

and holds fast my covenant—

⁷these I will bring to my holy mountain,

and make them joyful in my house of prayer;

their burnt offerings and their sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house shall be called a house of prayer

for all peoples.”

— Isaiah 56:6-7 (ESV)

I see here that it is not the arriving at the House of the LORD. It is the keeping “the Sabbath” and not doing anything against it that makes the difference. I see that those that do so, will be joyful and their prayers will be heard, and therefor, God’s House will be the house of prayer.

I find myself weekly in God’s House, and I will say that prayer is not something that is missing where we as a family meet with our brothers and sisters in Christ. In fact, at this time, we are in the midst of a study on prayer that has revealed so much. I want nothing more than to be known by God. I want to be in God’s House of prayer and offering to Him. I want my offerings to be accepted.

As I write this morning, I am brought back to the verses I have just read and see that for me to be in God’s House of prayer and for my offerings to be accepted, I simply have to devote myself to Him. I have to be present with Him and not look away. I must not be concerned with all that is around me and keep my eyes on God and my heart with Him. I have to “be there” in His presence. I have to remain vigilant in my pursuit of Him and do nothing to turn away from Him. I must hold on to the life that He provides for me and be thankful and accepting of all His provision and know that His blessings are just that, blessings and not guaranteed.

I am a child of God and as such, I have the joy of being able to meet with Him whenever I want. I have the opportunity to converse with Him and know that He is indeed there for me as I enter His House of prayer. When I meet with Him I devote myself to Him and keep those times focused on Him so as not to go against Him. I am to be there for the time with Him and nothing more.

What is your approach to your time in God’s House? Are you there to be seen? What if you just arrived and spent the time in conversation with God in His House of prayer and in devotion to keeping the time all about Him?

God Wants Our Prayer

I will admit that the title this morning does not tell the whole story of my thoughts. I felt that what I really wanted the title to be was more of an oration/quote than a title, so I went with the simplicity of, “God Wants Your Prayer”.

“⁸The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the LORD,

but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.”

— Proverbs 15:8 (ESV)

Above is what I really wanted to say. You see, God is not interested in receiving sacrifices. The practice was part of the law of the old covenant and when the veil was torn in two at the death of Christ on the cross, the old covenant was replaced. No longer were we dependent on acts done by us for salvation. Salvation was given thanks to the act done by God. In the old covenant, it was pretty common for someone to perform the act of sacrifice once per year to atone for the past year of wickedness.

Now, it may seem that the giving up of something would be acceptable to God and well, it is. The thing that I have to look at is the 4^th and 5^th words of the verse above, “the wicked” to know that where giving up something is acceptable, it is where it comes from that the LORD is looking at. Is it coming from the heart or from “the wicked”. Is it an act of dedication to the LORD or is it an act put on for all to see. God is more interested in that which comes from the heart than all the overt acts for all to see.

So, God wants our prayer more than He wants our sacrifice. He desires an honest conversation with those who love Him back, although He continues to love all regardless of the reciprocation. Notice in the 2^nd part of the verse above that it is “the upright” and their “prayer” that is acceptable, and not the gifts given to God by just anyone. It is the quiet, private conversation with Him that God is looking for from His children. He wants our petitions to Him coming from the heart and not from the head. Yes it makes logical sense to give something to get something in return, it is just that God does not “need” anything, He only wants to have all of me.

I do have to declare that I do not consider myself to be upright, I am only striving every day to be there. It is not for me to determine my standing with God, it is His. What I will say is that I can only work each day to meet the requirements of God and those are simple enough, as Jesus stated was the greatest commandment.

“³⁶’Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’³⁷And he said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment. ³⁹And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” – Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)

God wants our prayer. He wants it over anything else.

What are you trying to give to the LORD? Are you trying to give something to atone for something or to get something in return? What if you simply gave of our love to Him and opened your heart to receive as you gave God your prayer?

Pray to God for Speedy Answer

I have been of the understanding that God works on His own timeline and I have to be content and accept that He does. And then I read this morning in Psalm 102.

“¹Hear my prayer, O LORD;

let my cry come to you!

²Do not hide your face from me

in the day of my distress!

Incline your ear to me;

answer me speedily in the day when I call!”

— Psalm 102:1-2 (ESV)

Here we see a complaining prayer to the LORD. Notice that it starts as I have recently written with the call out to the LORD for Him to hear. There is even the pleading with the LORD to pay attention. And then we see it, “answer me speedily in the day when I call!” And it is proclaimed in earnest as noted with the exclamation mark. We are to ask the LORD to work speedily.

I can see the conflict in what I understood and what I am reading as pertains to my asking of and receiving from the LORD. I can and frankly should be asking Him to hear my prayer, meet my needs, and deliver me. I am to be content with what I have as all comes from God and He will always provide. Yet, here we see the asking of God to hurry up, which is not allowing God to work in His time and according to His plan.

Well, again I have to remember that God’s Word is more encompassing that the single passages that are presented at any one moment. I have to remember context and also know that ultimately God will not allow for my suffering unless it is a part of His plan and ultimately for His glory. You see, this passage is one of angst and there is a look to the LORD for relief. Who does not want relief as quickly as possible. I know that when trouble is presented for me, I am looking for quick resolution. There is nothing wrong with asking the LORD to resolve things “speedily” as noted above. I have to remember the relationship with God that I have and that He wants to hear our pleas from an honest heart, and will not look unfavorably on me for crying out to Him for whatever it is I am asking.

Where I can and should ask God for whatever it is that comes and is in my heart, I have to take the rest into account and know that even in my plea, God will still be working with His own plan and timeline. God hears from us and listens fully with His heart open to our words and heart. He wants us to bring all of us, including our complains and pleas, so that He will have the opportunity to comfort and demonstrate His love for us. So it is fully okay and acceptable to ask for speedy resolution to our requests. We are not out of bounds as the LORD is full of compassion for us and our relationship with Him is one in which we should not have to hold back in any area, especially when we are feeling broken and in need.

What do your prayers to the LORD contain? Are you conflicted in asking for really what is in your heart because it may not be what you understand you can ask for? What if you just asked for that which is in your heart and know that God will answer in His time and according to His plan?

Ask God to Hear Your Prayer

“²O God, hear my prayer;

give ear to the words of my mouth.”

— Psalm 54:2 (ESV)

I have to ask Him to hear me.

I know, God is always listening so why should I have to ask Him to hear me? Well, I will compare my interaction with God with the speaker in an event. When attending an event, everyone is waiting for the speaker to begin. They are milling around and engaged with others until the presentation or speaker begins. With that in mind, when taking the stage, the speaker must first get the attention of the group to have them settle in and turn their attention to the speaker. Once the crowd is “ready” and “attentive” the speaker begins.

Now I am not saying that God is not paying attention to me, on the contrary, He is very aware of me and my needs. Yet, I still need to draw Him close by announcing that I am here and am petitioning Him at that moment. It is up to me to initiate the conversation with Him through my announcement and request for Him to hear me. I have to submit to God always, yet in moments of prayer, I have to fully dedicate myself to Him and announce that I am wanting and needing to speak directly with Him.

I imagine that God is sitting on His throne, watching and listening for His children, ready to jump into action when we call. I close my eyes and can see Him picking us up when we fall and running to us when we call. I can picture God turning to me when I ask for Him and He scoops me in His arms and looks me in the eyes as I speak with Him.

All of the above begins with me asking Him to hear me. I pray to Him and want His full attention and the way I get it is to ask Him and know that when I do, He is there to listen.

When you pray, how are you opening your conversation with God? Are you just launching into your wants and needs? What if you were to open your prayer with the announcement that you are here and asking God to hear you?

The LORD Hears and Accepts Prayer

Prayer is the speaking with God, thanking Him, and asking for His help. I will admit, that for me it often feels like a one way monologue with very little, if any response from Him at all. I also know that it is likely not unusual as Lori feels the same way. The thing is that He does not need to respond to us with what His plans are as He is always working to ensure that they are carried out. The thing is we may not know of what He is doing or what the plans entail or look like. Our role is simply to pray and know that He is listening and hears us.

“⁹The LORD has heard my plea;

the LORD accepts my prayer.”

— Psalm 6:9 (ESV)

David was always praying to the LORD. He was always speaking with and thanking and asking for help during his rule. He questioned the LORD on the timing of things and what the plan was.

“²Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;

heal me, O LORD, for my bones are troubled.

³My soul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O LORD—how long?”

— Psalm 6:2-3 (ESV)

But, as noted in verse nine above, He knew that the LORD was hearing his plea and was accepting of his prayer. David knew that the LORD was taking action and that while there may not be an immediate outcome that David wanted, the LORD was on his side and would be working to protect and guide him.

“¹⁰All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment.”

— Psalm 6:10 (ESV)

I have to remember that my prayer does not fall on deaf ears of the LORD. He may not immediately answer me or my prayers, but He does hear them and accepts them and works with them in His plans for my life in living out that life for Him.

What prayers are you laying out there that you feel are not being answered? Are you looking for those immediate answers in affirmation of your requests? What if you just kept up with prayer knowing that the LORD does hear and accepts them and works with your requests in the carrying out of His plan?

Tested, Pray, Rescued, Praise

The LORD will test me. I will pray for relief. The LORD rescues me. I will Praise Him. And again and again and again and again and again.

I know that when things are not going as I have planned or I am presented with a test/trial in life, I reach out to the LORD in prayer for relief. At the proper time, the LORD rescues me from the trial at which time I praise Him. This is a recipe for the relationship with the LORD that I must continue.

This morning I continue my study on the word “tested” and was brought to the passage in Psalm about the awesomeness of the Lord’s deeds. The passage discusses this recipe for us to follow and care for us that He gives.

“¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us;

you have tried us as silver is tried.¹¹You brought us into the net;

you laid a crushing burden on our backs;

¹³I will come into your house with burnt offerings;

I will perform my vows to you,

¹⁴that which my lips uttered

and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

¹²you let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

¹⁵I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,

with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;

I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah”

— Psalm 66:10-11, 13-14, 12, 15 (ESV)

I know that these verses may be out of order from a written word, but they share the recipe as I see them. First it is mentioned of the tests/trials that the LORD has brought upon us in verses 10 and 11. Next in verses 13 and 14, is the reminder that while going through the tests/trials we have made promises in our prayers to the LORD. And in verse 12 we are assured of our deliverance/rescue from the tests/trials. And finally in verse 15 we praise the LORD for the journey and deliverance/rescue.

Every day I have the opportunity to go through with this recipe. God will test me. I will then pray for deliverance from the test. God will rescue me at the right time (not to be confused with my timing request). I will then praise God for the experience and the deliverance.

By following this recipe, I am continuing my deep relationship with the LORD. He is there for us all the way from start to finish. There will be high points where I will praise Him and there will be low points where I will pray for deliverance. Following each of those points, there are tests and rescues that are fulling in the control of the LORD. I am to continue with my part, prayer and praise to experience all that the LORD has for me.

Tested, Pray, Rescued, Praise

What tests have you been led to/through by the LORD? Are you only looking at the rescue of it all? What if you saw the entire recipe and embraced it to deepen your relationship with the LORD?

Temptation Will NOT Be More Than You Can Handle

As noted, temptation will be there for all of us. There is no one who is exempt from it as we are all human and will be tempted by the evil one, regardless of our relationship with Christ. I am a sinner and it is my nature to want to sin. Temptation will drive me to sin, that I know for certain.

“¹³No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.” — 1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

Here Paul tells the Corinthians again that they will be tempted, and even that God will allow it to happen. This further demonstrates that we are not exempt from temptation, no matter our standing with Christ. But, God will also ensure that we have a way to avoid or be delivered from that temptation. We do not have to be slaves to the temptation.

I have noted in previous writings that temptation can be avoided by continuing to do work. By staying busy with the LORD’s work, my heart and my mind will be focused on the work and does not have a chance to wander into the realm of that temptation. I have also the ability to lean on a partner, my wife, to keep me from the temptations that will come from the evil one as relates to sexual immorality. I have Lori to be with and therefore will lean away from the temptations that will steal my heart.

I have a way out, as you can see in the above paragraph, and that is noted by Paul there in verse 13 above. I can and will endure the temptation, but not on my own. I have to have a place to be and someone to be there with. The place is in the doing of God’s work and the person is the LORD and an accountability partner such as fellow Christians, or the one closest to me in Lori.

God provides me the way to avoid or be delivered from the temptations of the evil one, and He also will not allow me to be tempted with more than I can handle. It must be noted that the amount I can handle is not left for me to decide, but left for God to allow. When left to it on my own, I will take the path of least resistance. God will take me on His path, which may be paved with difficulty, adversity, and plenty of temptation. But that path will always be the one that I can follow and reach the end. God will NOT ask me to take on something that I am not able to complete for Him, after all, it is His will NOT mine.

So when looking at temptation and my relationship with it, I have to remember that first of all, it will be there. I will always have those things that will tempts me to fall away from the path that God has me on. But, God will provide me the way that I can avoid the temptations and not allow them to over take and derail my work that I am tasked with for Him. And, when I am not able to avoid the temptation, He will provide the way to be delivered from it.

What temptations are in your life? Are you allowing them to stop you from proceeding with the work that God has for you? What if you took the approach that God will NOT allow temptations in your life that are more than you can handle?

Pray to Avoid Temptation

I wrote recently about avoiding temptation by being with others. This morning I was brought to the passage of Jesus praying in Gethsemane and the actions of those who were with Him at that time. Jesus was with the three and as He went a bit further to pray and converse with God alone, He left them to keep watch. When one is to keep watch, it is understood to be awake and alert to that which is going on around so as to warn or take action as needed.

“⁴⁰And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’” — Matthew 26:40-41 (ESV)

The three could not even keep watch for one hour while Jesus was praying. They fell asleep and lacked awareness and alertness to anything that was going on about them. Jesus returned to find them this way and coached them to the need for them to stay awake and gave them instruction as to how to and why it was important, pray to avoid temptation.

Jesus understands that it is important to have others around you to avoid temptation, hence the reason for bringing the three disciples with Him to pray so that they could keep one another. Yet, the disciples did not hold each other accountable and allowed one another to fall into temptation and fall asleep. They were tempted by their in action and even though they were not alone, they were on their own as they did not work together.

Jesus gave the disciples simple instructions to stay awake and watch out. The disciples could not do it. So, Jesus gave them additional instruction to avoid the temptation of sleep and that was to remain active with prayer. Jesus went again to pray additionally with God and then returned to find the disciples, you guessed it, asleep again.

“⁴²Again, for the second time, he went away and prayed, ‘My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.’ ⁴³And again he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴So, leaving them again, he went away and prayed for the third time, saying the same words again.” — Matthew 26:42-44 (ESV)

Notice as He returned after prayer and finding them asleep, Jesus did not coach them again as he knew that they had fallen to the temptation and would continue doing so. He returned to pray once again and left them to sleep. Jesus had asked and asked again for the disciples to follow His example and pray, and when they demonstrated that they were not capable, He left them to continue on their own and fall to the temptation.

Jesus will deliver us from the temptations that we fall to as He did with the disciples here. He will “wake” us and provide the instruction to avoid that temptation and it is up to us to take that instruction and learn from it to improve. When we do not, Jesus will allow us to fall to the temptation and will wait for us to come to Him and seek the deliverance.

Jesus will also come to us when it is time and deliver us as needed. He did so with the disciples at the appointed time and provided some final coaching and instruction for them before He would be taken away and led to His crucifixion.

“⁴⁵Then he came to the disciples and said to them, ‘Sleep and take your rest later on. See, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.’” — Matthew 26:45-46 (ESV)

I have to note here that Jesus did not give up on the disciples, He simply allowed them to fall to the temptation knowing that He would be able to deliver them at the appointed time. Jesus will not abandon me. He is always with me, yet He will allow me to live with free will and make my own decisions. He will be there waiting for me to come to Him.

The disciples fell to their temptation as they were idle. They were not doing anything to stay awake and alert and keep watch. They were men and they were tired. I know that I have fallen prey to being idle and have fallen to the temptation of sleep when I could have taken action to avoid that temptation. I will teach my trainees that when there is nothing to do, there is always something to do. They should not just sit idle, they should find something to take up their time so that they are able to stay alert and continue to learn. I have to remember to take my own advice and remember that when I am idle, there is always something to do to avoid temptation and that something is to pray.

What are you doing when you are idle? Are you looking to simply rest and are you falling prey to temptation? What if you found that one thing that would fill your idleness and pray to the LORD?

Reach Out to God and He will be Found

And just how is it that I reach out to God, through prayer. I know it seems so simple, and it is.

“⁶Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;”

— Psalm 32:6a

The offering of prayer to God so that He will be found is such a simple and logical concept, that I am not sure it is something that will take root with others. I have often been caught saying that things that are logical and simple do not make sense to others due to it being too simple and logical. I know that I have heard the saying, “one is not able to see the forest for the trees”. And that means that there is this desire to see something more and in reality, it is right it is right in front of you and you are not even aware as you are blinded by your search.

With God, it is simple, pray to Him and He is there for you to converse and have that relationship. And you have have that conversation and relationship anytime. Yes, anytime. I still think about folks like my grandmother and how she had a daily relationship with God. There was a dependence on Him for her comfort and deliverance. When coming into her home, her relationship with God was evident based on the environment surrounding her. Her Bible was on the lamp stand with her glasses and a pen with notepad. There were renditions of Jesus throughout the home and her presence in church was recognized by all.

Oh to have that relationship with Him at my age today. I can. I have only to being the relationship with Him through prayer and calling on Him to join me where I am (although He is already here). I only have to reach out to God through prayer at all times and I will find Him there waiting to strike up a conversation.

With God, there is no busy signal when I call. There is nothing that indicates that the “call cannot be completed”. There is no disconnected line to Him. All I have to do is pray to Him and He is there to take the call and speak with me. No, I will not always get exactly what I want, but He is there to listen and offer advise and solutions to get through it all. I have to trust in the relationship I have with Him and know that relationship is strong and always open for me to come to Him.

What does your relationship with God look like? Are you aware that He is found whenever you call? What if you were to call all the time and know that He is there to take the call and listen, comfort, offer advise, and simply love you?