READING: Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9; John 11:55-12:36; Matthew 21:1-22; Mark 11:1-26;
Luke 19:28-48; John 2:13-25
“My house will be a house of prayer.”
Luke 19:46
Make your way to the temple in Jerusalem in the first century, and you would have found a place to exchange money to pay the temple tax and purchase animals for sacrifices. It may well have been that the “sellers” charged such exorbitant fees that they were extorting pilgrims who had come from a long distance to fulfill their responsibilities – and Jesus would have none of that. He would not allow His house to be reduced to a place of sin. Instead, He quickly reminded them of Isaiah’s words (56:7) and their own sin: “It is written, my house will be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves!” (Luke 19:46).
In fact, God’s house was to be a house of prayer for all nations. God in His grace brings together people from all nations and ethnicities, places them in His family, and unites them. Through His power, we become one as His body even when we don’t speak the same language or worship the same way. That picture of the peoples of the world praying together in God’s house is a glorious one indeed.
I suspect, though, that many churches aren’t even close to what Jesus described. On one hand, we’re not often a seriously praying people. On the other hand, numbers show us that most churches don’t reach many non-believers—especially those of other ethnicities. We have a long way to go to be a house of prayer for all nations.
May we begin to pray that God would make us this kind of church.
ACTION STEPS:
- Spend significant time in prayer today. Play your role in your church being a praying church.
- Pray for the nations who live in your community.
PRAYER: “God, make our church a praying church.”
TOMORROW’S READING: Matthew 21:23-22:14, Mark 11:27-12:12, Luke 20:1-19, John 12:37-50