A House of Prayer

20th May 2026

A House of Prayer

Luke 19:46 It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves.

God has never done anything randomly. Everything He does has a plan and a purpose. When he instructed Noah to build an ark, He gave specific instructions. When He was giving instructions to Moses about the tabernacle, He paid great attention to the minutest details – colour, measurement, dimensions, numbers, materials – everything had to follow a specific and predetermined order.

When Solomon built the temple in Jerusalem, he was careful about the quality of materials, measurements, shapes, etc. This wasn’t just for aesthetic reasons; it was in keeping with God’s order. And in every of these buildings, God confirmed His approval by sending down fire from heaven. In Solomon’s case, the bible tells us that the house was filled with the glory of God (in the form of a thick cloud) so that the priests could not stand in the house to minister. And God ordained that temple to be a house of prayer after Solomon’s prayer of consecration and dedication.

You might be thinking, ‘What has that got to do with me?’ I will tell you quickly. In the new testament, God has no need for physical temples and buildings and sanctuaries. He is interested in YOU. Read that again, He is interested in YOU! You are the temple of God – and by extension, you are a house of prayer.

The implication of this is that everything you do should be a prayer unto God. When you walk on the streets, you should be praying. When you are in school studying, you should be praying. In your workplace, you should be praying. When you are cooking, eating, cleaning, taking care of the children, you should be praying. Your very thoughts and words should be a prayer unto God. Prayer doesn’t necessarily need to be asking God for something. It can be giving Him thanks, talking to Him about a situation, about a person, asking him how He feels about certain things – just knowing His mind.

We turn God’s house into a den of robbers when our minds and hearts are filled with worries and anxiety instead of giving thanks. Worries and anxiety are robbers because they rob us of our joy and they prevent us from enjoying the presence of God. You have the key to your heart. Who will you open to – worry or thanksgiving? Give your heart to prayer and you will be better for it.

Confession:
Father, you know I am human and sometimes, I worry about things. I am making a deliberate choice to pray rather than worry, to give thanks rather than to complain. So help me God.