House of Prayer

1 This is what the Lord says:

“Be just and fair to all.
Do what is right and good,
for I am coming soon to rescue you
and to display my righteousness among you.
2 Blessed are all those
who are careful to do this.
Blessed are those who honor my Sabbath days of rest
and keep themselves from doing wrong.

3 “Don’t let foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord say,
‘The Lord will never let me be part of his people.’
And don’t let the eunuchs say,
‘I’m a dried-up tree with no children and no future.’
4 For this is what the Lord says:
I will bless those eunuchs
who keep my Sabbath days holy
and who choose to do what pleases me
and commit their lives to me.
5 I will give them—within the walls of my house—
a memorial and a name
far greater than sons and daughters could give.
For the name I give them is an everlasting one.
It will never disappear!

6 “I will also bless the foreigners who commit themselves to the Lord,
who serve him and love his name,
who worship him and do not desecrate the Sabbath day of rest,
and who hold fast to my covenant.
7 I will bring them to my holy mountain of Jerusalem
and will fill them with joy in my house of prayer.
I will accept their burnt offerings and sacrifices,
because my Temple will be called a house of prayer for all nations.
8 For the Sovereign Lord,
who brings back the outcasts of Israel, says:
I will bring others, too,
besides my people Israel.”

God has called his house a house of prayer. It's a place where his children gather to pay and pray. They pay homage, and they offer prayers. They enter into conversation with God.

Prayer is the heartbeat of every vibrant congregation. God hears the prayers of his people when they come with broken and contrite hearts. The prayers of God's servants rise to the heavens and drift as sweet incense into the nostrils of a loving Father.

Prayers are not simply times of requesting or even pleading with God. They are conversations in which God is adored, sins are confessed, thanksgivings are lifted up, and petitions are offered. When God's people come in humble adoration and honestly and openly confess their unworthiness, God hears and answers from his heavenly throne.

On the other hand, when people come before God with an attitude of pride or a sense of entitlement, the conversation quickly comes to an end. All too often churches only approach God when they are unable to make it on their own. Then prayer is a last resort.

Prayer--conversation with God--is at its best when humble people come into God's presence like children who come to their Father--in love, adoration, trust, and dependence.

Father, we adore you; we confess we are undeserving; we thank you for your grace and lift our needs before you--for you alone are our help and provision. In Jesus, Amen.