MY HOUSE
SHALL BE CALLED THE HOUSE OF PRAYER
And said
unto them, It is written,
My house shall be called the house of prayer…
Matthew 21:13
When we hear this phrase, we
often think of it as referring to a building such as the Temple in the Old
Testament or the modern day Church building in which we gather to have service
on certain days of the week.
The word “house” can be defined
as “a dwelling place”. (Strong’s G3624)
God wants the place where He
dwells to be a place filled with prayer.
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit if so be
that the Spirit of God DWELL in you…
The Greek word for “dwell” comes
from the Greek word for ‘House’ and means “to occupy, to reside”. (Strong’s
G3611)
WE are
God’s House, His dwelling place where God comes to reside once we have the Holy
Ghost living inside of us.
2
Corinthians 6:16
…For ye are the Temple of the Living God; as
God hath said,
I will dwell in them, and walk in them;
and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
WE are the Temple of the Living
God.
WE are to be the House of Prayer.
WHAT IS PRAYER?
Prayer is us talking to God – Bible reading is God communicating
to us.
“To be a Christian without prayer
is no more possible than to be alive without breathing”
If a person is not praying, it
won’t be long until they are straying.
“Prayer should not be merely an
occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble. Prayer should be a life attitude when you’re
a Christian”
Prayer should not be something
that we do only when you come to Church.
As Christians, we should feed the
spiritual man through prayer and Bible reading MORE than we feed the natural
man.
Just as the natural body will
grow weak and sickly if not fed very often or is fed on junk food the majority
of the time….
In the same manner, the spiritual
man will become weak and sickly if not fed very often or if the majority of a
person’s spiritual diet consists of carnal things.
How much time is spent or not
spent in prayer will affect how well you can handle a life crisis or even a
simple frustration.
We need to be FULL of the Holy Ghost, but we can’t
be full of the Holy Ghost if we’re not praying.
LORD,
TEACH US TO PRAY
Sometimes we don’t know how to
pray or what to pray. Even Jesus’
disciples felt that way at times.
In Luke 11:1, we find where Jesus
had been praying.
His disciples knew the importance
and necessity of prayer, but after listening to Jesus pray, one of His
disciples may have felt his prayers were falling short or were inadequate as he
said to Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray….”
They knew John the Baptist had
taught his disciples how to pray, and Jesus had instructed them not to pray
using vain repetitions (Matthew 6:7 ) meaning, not to repeat the same things
over and over, and use idle words such as repeating “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus –
Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah” etc over and over again.
That is drawing near to God with
our mouth and with our words, but if a person’s heart is not in it, they are
just using vain repetitions. (Isaiah 29:13)
Jesus wants the words we speak to
be sincere and from our heart. He wants
true, heartfelt worship and adoration.
He wants us to have a meaningful
conversation with Him just as we would have with a close friend or family
member.
If you don’t know how to pray or
what to pray, ask Him.
PRAYER
DRAWS US CLOSER TO GOD
James 4:8
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you…..
The more time we spend in prayer,
the closer we’ll become to Jesus.
Coming to Church, hearing the
preached Word, and reading the Bible are how we learn about God. But it is not
the same nor does it take the place of praying.
Praying is building relationship
with our Creator and Savior.
When we became interested in the
person who is now our spouse, we didn’t build a relationship by just being in
the same room. No, we had many conversations.
At first, it was awkward as we
asked surface questions and told each other our likes and dislikes or shared
our day. Then little by little, those
conversations became more meaningful and deeper until the relationship
developed from just ‘like’ to ‘love’.
It’s the same way in our walk
with God.
When you first begin to pray, it
may seem awkward and you may not know exactly what to pray so the conversation
is short.
But the more you pray, the more you’ll learn to pray.
The more you learn to pray, the more you’ll desire to pray.
Until you long for those special times spent in God’s Presence, feeling His
comforting touch as we feel His loving arms wrap around our shoulders.
Prayer draws us closer to Jesus!
PRAYER CHANGES THINGS
Hezekiah, King of Judah, was born
to a mother and father who did wickedly in the sight of Almighty God. But despite his ungodly heritage, King
Hezekiah made the decision to serve and pray to the One True Living God.
He tore down all the idols and
places of pagan worship and tried to turn the hearts of the people back to
serving the True God.
The Bible says he CLAVE (held
tightly) to the Lord, kept His commandments, and didn’t depart/stray away from
following Him. Because of it, the Lord
was with him. (2 Kings 18-20)
Years passed during Hezekiah’s
reign and he continued to do right in God’s eyes, but eventually he became sick
and grew worse each day.
God sent the Prophet Isaiah to
tell him to get his house in order because he was going to die.
Instead of accepting that word
concerning his demise, he turned his face to the wall and began to pray. He reminded God of his faithfulness and
devotion to God. Because he prayed, God
extended Hezekiah’s life 15 more years.
Because Prayer changes things!
The 3 Hebrew boys would not have
been able to stand strong and would not have been delivered from the fiery
furnace if they didn’t have a consistent dedicated prayer life.
Daniel was thrown into the lions’
den BECAUSE he prayed….but he was also kept safe and delivered out of it
BECAUSE he had a consistent dedicated prayer life.
Noah saved himself and his
immediate family BECAUSE he prayed.
Because he prayed, he was able to hear God’s voice warning there was a
flood coming. Because he prayed, he was
able to hear God’s instructions on how to build the Ark and what to do to save
his family and the animals.
It was because Paul and Silas
chose to pray and worship God despite being beaten and bruised that the prison
doors were opened and the chains fell off not just for them but for ALL who
were bound in the prison with them. And
because they prayed instead of moaning, the jailer and his family were baptized
that night.
Their stories would have all
turned out differently if they hadn’t prayed.
THERE’S POWER IN PRAYER
Corrie Ten Boom once wisely said….
The
wonderful thing about praying
is that you leave a world of not being able to do something,
and enter God’s realm where everything is possible.
He specializes in the impossible.
Nothing is too great for His Almighty power.
Nothing is too small for His love.
There are some who claim to be Christian yet don’t believe you
have to pray very often, saying, “God knows my heart.” That is a doctrine of
devils sent to deceive! Yes, God knows their
heart better than they do. Their heart
is carnal and loves the things of this present world more than the things of
God.
The devil loves prayerlessness! Or very little of it, just enough to appease
the conscious. Because he knows there’s
power in prayer…
It is through prayer that mountains move.
It is through prayer that situations change.
It is through prayer that WE change and get in alignment with
God’s Will.
It was during a prayer meeting that the Holy Ghost was poured out on the Day of
Pentecost.
It was during a prayer meeting
that the Holy Ghost was first poured out in Topeka, Kansas and then spread to
California and was poured out at the Azusa Street Revival.
It began in September in the year
1900, when a man named Charles F. Parham required his students to carefully
study the subject of the Holy Ghost.
On New Year’s eve, around 80
people gathered for watchnight service.
The people began to pray.
On January 1st, 1901,
a missionary lady named Agnes Ozman was the first to receive the baptism of the
Holy Ghost. She spoke in tongues for 3
days.
On January 3rd, twelve
students (including Charles Parham) received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and
spoke in tongues.
From there, the revival fires
spread to Kansas City, Missouri. As they continued to pray and study God’s
Word, God directed Bro Parham to Acts 2:38 and opened his understanding of the
need of water Baptism by immersion in Jesus’ name.
The revival fires continued to
spread and made its way south to Texas and then eventually to Azusa Street in
Los Angeles, CA where in April of 1906, the Holy Ghost was again poured out in
a mighty way.
Prior to those studies and prayer
meetings, it was rare and looked down upon to speak in tongues. The spread of this new outpouring of God’s
Spirit was fought but you can’t fight against God.
The Holy Ghost was once again
burning and spreading like a wild fire….all because people prayed!
IF WE
COULD FULLY GRASP THE POWER THROUGH PRAYER
Prayer opens the door to the
supernatural and to see the Gifts of the Spirit in operation.
Through prayer AND Fasting, we
see strongholds broken and chains fall off of those who are bound.
Through prayer, we see the impossible become miracles!
The reason the modern day
Apostolic Church is not seeing the same results the Apostles saw, is because
the modern day Apostolic Church is not doing the same things the Apostles did.
The modern Church is craving and
seeking after too much entertainment.
The early Church learned the
importance of prayer! They knew how to
pray!
And it was not just a casual
prayer – they knew how to pray a fervent, Holy Ghost, heartfelt, and anointed
prayer!
It is the effectual,
fervent prayer of a righteous man that availeth much! (James 5:16)
If you
want to see a breakthrough in your life or situation,
prayer AND fasting are the key!
The modern day saints are
addicted to good music and want to hear ‘good’ preaching that sounds more like
a motivational speech than a sermon trying to direct them and get them ready
for heaven.
We need the preaching and
teaching and worship (that’s Biblical), but we need along with all that to
learn how to really pray.
The 5 foolish virgins oil was
growing low because prayer was not a priority.
Lack of prayer of just occasional
prayer here and there will cause a person to become lukewarm and then cold in
their spirit. God said He will spue lukewarm Christians out of His mouth. (Rev
3:16)
You know why He hates it so
much? Because a lukewarm person thinks
they’re ok spiritually when they’re on dangerous ground. Revive the fires of prayer!
Surround yourself with people
that will get you to pray more, worship more and love God more!
We need to LONG after God!
We need to HUNGER and THIRST after God!
Those that hunger and thirst after righteousness shall be
FILLED. (Mt 5:6)
If you don’t know how to pray, ask the Lord to teach you HOW
to pray.
Let us not just appear to be a house of prayer but to actually
BE a house of prayer.
The House of God is supposed to be a Holy Place…
a place of worship…
a place to talk to the One
who created all things….
a place to come and get into
God’s Presence without all the
distractions and
without all the hustle & bustle of everyday life with
its cares…..
a place where our focus can
be completely on HIM.
Bro Godair shared this….
Before
Church, you talk to God.
During Church, let God talk to you.
After Church, talk to each other.
Pre-service prayer is just as
important as the rest of the service – it is the time when you get your spirit
in tune with God, clear the clutter from your mind, and usher in God’s presence
into the service.
So we can be ready to give God
our undivided attention as we offer up worship, praise, and adoration to the
One who is worthy. Jesus deserves so
much more than what we offer Him.
The preaching is where God can
speak to us, direct us, lead, teach, or correct us through the preached Word.
Then we conclude with altar
service. I’ve heard said and agree that
we must always leave the Church by way of the altar whether we feel the message
was for us or not. It gives more time for God to work and let the
Message sink in.
Prayer should be the foundation in every Born Again Believer’s
life.
Prayer keeps our hearts tender and pliable before God.
“Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue.”
Prayer should not be something we
turn to only when we want or need something.
Prayer should not be something we only use in times of emergency.
Colossians 4:2 – CONTINUE in prayer,
and WATCH in the same with thanksgiving.
This means = Persevere and be diligent
in praying, and KEEP AWAKE in the same.
We are in the end time
hours. The devil is seeking whom he may
devour.
We need to pray – more than ever before – we need to be diligent
and persevere in prayer! We need to stay
awake and aware spiritually!
We need to pray! We
need to become the house of prayer!
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