Be Sure that God’s House is a House of Prayer

How many have seen charity booths and causes taken up in the foyer of churches? I know that I have and where the they are for good (at least it seems so) I cannot help but wonder if them being there is “right” as God’s House is to be a House of Prayer and not a convention hall.

Now, before you scold me on the churches responsibility to care for others and these charities and causes are an extension of the churches reach, I am not implying that there should be an abandonment of those charities and causes. I am simply asking the question as to there being in the venue of the church.

I believe that we have to be careful as to the purpose of the church and how that fits with the marketing of the charities and causes that are presented. If we are not careful, I see the church building becoming a convention hall taking advantage of soft/guilty/needy hearts in the moment.

“¹²And Jesus entered the temple and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons. ¹³He said to them, ‘It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you make it a den of robbers.’” – Matthew 21:12-13 (ESV)

Jesus saw the way the temple was being used as a marketplace and as such, He took action to drive them out to restore the temple to the House of Prayer. He was making sure that those coming to the temple were not being taken advantage of in their time of vulnerability and they had the chance to focus on their relationship with God.

Charities and causes need a voice and I want to say, I do believe the church should be involved in those charities and causes and should be bringing those to the congregation in response to the need that expressed. The only thing I have is that there has to be care taken as to the timing and the venue to which those items are communicated and shared. Maybe a charity/cause day or night that is sponsored and communicated through the church would be a solution. I am only cautious as to the when and where.

God’s House is a House of Prayer and it should held in regard as such. It is easy to wander away to other things in the interest of the good for others. We have to be careful to maintain God’s House as a House of Prayer and the opportunity to commune, worship, and praise Him.

What have you seen as goings on in your church? Do you find yourself distracted by the charities and causes? What if God’s House was maintained as a House of Prayer and the charities and causes left to another time and place?

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?

Freedom to Serve

“¹For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery…¹³For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” — Galatians 5:1&13 (ESV)

This morning I am brought back to a passage I have been to many times. I have a number of notes in the margin and yet, I am still getting more and more each time I come to the Word of God.

God freed us from the yoke of sin with the death and resurrection of Jesus on the cross. This freedom is not from any persecution, it is freedom from death due to my sin. This freedom has provided me the opportunity to serve God without fear of what comes in this world. I have to remember to follow the freedom as it was intended and not use it for my own license to sin. I have to use this freedom to spring me into action for the Lord and not for my own gain. That action for the Lord is rooted in serving Him by way of serving others.

What are you doing with your freedom? Are you using it as some excuse to do what you want? What if you were to embrace your freedom in God and use that freedom to serve Him through your service of others?

Freedom in the Spirit

Seems like when I make the statement as in the title of this writing, “Freedom in the Spirit”, I may be saying that freedom is not tangible and really only something that we are really not able to experience. Well that is not true at all. It is the word “the” that makes it completely different and does create the tangible thing for us all to experience.

“¹⁷Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17 (ESV)

You see, here Paul is speaking of the Holy Spirit and as we know, the Lord is the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ all in one. And therefore, when we are dwelling in the Spirit and the Spirit in us, we are dwelling in the Lord and He in us. This dwelling gives us freedom from this world and all that is in it. Actually one of you following my blog gave the comment; “Being in close communion with the Trinity frees me from the lies spewed out by gov. big business and TV which promotes hatred, worry and confusion.” and I could not agree more. When we are in the Spirit, we are free from the influences of the world and are able to live a life above the world with Jesus.

I have to be careful as I do not want to mislead and indicated that I am greater than the world, that is not the case, as I live in this world just as everyone else does and am subject to what goes on in this world. What I am saying is that I do not have to worry with what goes on in this world, as I serve a higher power and when in service of God, the consequences of the world do not concern me as it is the favor of God that I am serving and not the favor of this world.

This favor of God is what gives me the freedom to live in this world and know that I am only here for a little while, passing through on my way to heaven where I will spend eternity. In heaven I will not have to concern myself with this world as I will no longer be it in and will live free to serve and glorify God even still.

Where are you looking for freedom? Are you looking to the world to provide freedom for you? What if you were to dwell in the Spirit to experience the freedom that comes with His dwelling in you?

The World is Waiting for the Freedom of Christians

I know that this is quite the statement from me. But it is not from me at all, I have gathered this from the passage I read this morning in Romans. Paul writes about future glory in Romans 8 and part of that future glory is freedom for creation.

“¹⁹For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” — Romans 8:19-21 (ESV)

You see, right there in verse 19 Paul writes of the eager waiting by creation. And as you read further, you can see the waiting for the freedom that is experienced by the “children of God”.

Creation, the world itself, has been subjected to evil since Adam and Eve ate from the fruit in disobedience of God. Yes, the world is subjected to evil and has to wait for God’s redemption for the world to be relieved of the evil. That redemption of the world will be fully realized with the rapture and God’s win in the war with evil. So until that day, the world or creation will be waiting for the freedom that I have as a result of the gift of grace and salvation I have accepted from the LORD.

Yes I have freedom and yet the world does not. That is evident by simply watching the state of the world today and each day as we move forward. There is social upheaval, wars over ideologies, displays of “power” through authoritarian regimes, and just bad stuff happening all over. I have the ability to walk away from the evil and find solace in the family of God, as do the rest of my fellow Christians. The world does not have that ability and is subject to all that goes on in and around it.

The world waits on for the freedom of salvation. I can only do my part to bring the gift of the gospel and what salvation imparts to others. I present the gospel and allow others the opportunity to accept the free gift and experience the freedom that comes with it for themselves. Yet, the world must wait on the LORD to establish His freedom in the world as the world is not able to accept the freedom for itself.

What does freedom look like in you? What about your world, is freedom part of everywhere you go? What if you continued to do your part and brought the gospel to all persons and allowed them to accept, knowing that creation, or the world will not experience freedom until that day with Christ comes again?

Jesus’ Death and God’s Forgiveness, Once is Enough

It may sound a bit difficult to believe and after my writings to and understanding to continually ask for and seek out forgiveness from the LORD, but once is all it took for it all to take. Jesus’ death on the cross and God’s subsequent forgiveness of our sins only needed to happen once for the benefit to be realized.

“¹⁴For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified…¹⁷then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ ¹⁸Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.” — Hebrews 10:14 & 17-18 (ESV)

Here in Hebrews the writer reminds us of what I wrote above. The Jesus died and gave Himself as an offering of sacrifice for our sins and God recognized that sacrifice and forgave us. This one act took the place of all other sacrifices for sin that had, were, or will be offered. There is no longer the need for sacrifice for my sin as that has already been done and accepted.

But, that does not mean that I am without sin any longer. This is where the continued need for forgiveness comes in. Even with the one sacrifice and forgiveness event for my sins, I am still a sinner and in need of forgiveness. I have to recognize my sin and repent of it to the LORD in acknowledgment of His grace and salvation. I have to know that now that I have accepted grace and salvation from the LORD, I will not be plucked from His loving arms, I also have to remain humble and know that I will continue to sin and need His love each day.

Once was certainly enough for my salvation. I still need to present myself daily to the LORD on my knees in reverence of what He has given to me and ask that it continue as I will always be in need.

What process are you following for forgiveness? Are you continuing to offer sacrifice in belief that the next one will do it for the foreseeable future? What if you accepted that Jesus’ death and God’s Forgiveness was enough in the one instance and that we still need to present ourselves to Him recognizing that we are always in need?