Today’s Reading, Matthew 20-21
Focal Scripture: Matthew 21:3 “He said to them, “It is written, my house will be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of thieves!”
What is your prayer life like? This is a deep question and one that we must all answer. I can tell you that I have been personally convicted the last several months that my prayer life does not match with the biblical expectation. What is the biblical expectation? To always be in an attitude of prayer. To pray to seek his glory more than I want something from God. Bringing others to Jesus and petitioning that God do a work in their lives. I do these things some but not with the tenacity and commitment that the Lord demonstrated for us to follow.
In today’s reading we catch up on Jesus cleansing the temple. He cleanses the temple because the people were buying and selling and not making the Lord the priority. Money, power, prestige and profit were in the hearts of the people instead of brokenness and confession of sin. The temple was their place to pray to the Lord of Hosts and see lives changed. The temple was for sacrifice and the forgiveness of sin. This attitude all starts with prayer.
So how would you rate your prayer life in a scale of 1-10? This question is not to make you feel bad but to adequately assess your prayers. I am convinced that most people use prayer as a tool to get what they want and not as a way to access intimacy with the Lord. We don’t teach prayer in our churches. It is not modeled in ways that are practical and intentional.
In most churches prayer is a transition time between events. Prayer happens while the band gets set up on the stage. Prayer happens quickly before the offerings. Prayer happens at the end of a service. If the Lord drove out people in the temple because it was not a house of prayer what does he think of our places of worship right now? What would he think of your own tent of prayer?
I challenge you today to set up time everyday to pray. If you don’t know how to pray follow this model.
- Praise the Lord for who he is and what he has done
- Repent and confess your sin
- Advocate for those who need prayer
- Yield your time to the Lord and ask God to reveal any area of your life that needs to change.
This simple prayer will guide your heart and your prayer life to deep places. Prayer should be an avenue to know the Lord intimately and for him to do his greatest work in us daily. Prayer reveals what we believe about God. Let’s demonstrate the power of prayer in our lives and the lives of those around us on a daily basis.
Tomorrow, I plan on reading Matthew 22-23
