The Place of Prayer 3

Where else did Jesus teach us to pray? Wherever the church gathers is intended to be a house of prayer. Jesus was angry and violent when he discovered that the temple, which ought to have been a house of prayer, had morphed into a den of thieves.

Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted on My altar; for My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.

Isa 56:7

Going into the Temple he began to throw out everyone who had set up shop, selling everything and anything. He said, "It's written in Scripture, My house is a house of prayer; You have turned it into a religious bazaar."

Luke 19:45-46 (MSG)

God’s intention for our local church buildings, cathedrals, worship halls and chapels is that they be a house of prayer for all nations. Unfortunately, many of us lock up our church buildings from Monday to Saturday. We open them on Sunday mornings and then shut them up again immediately after the Sunday worship service. We shut people out except for a religious bazaar. Even the hours we spend in church are swallowed up in announcements, committee meetings, dancing, recreation…with little time for corporate prayer. The Lord of the house says, “My house shall be called a house of prayer.”

During our honeymoon, my wife and I met an American missionary who had been married several years. He taught me to take time out to pray before heading home from a busy and demanding work day. Earlier on in his marriage, the demands of his old job put a lot of strain on his family life. He carried the burdens of work home and transferred aggression, disappointments and expectations. The downward spiral became obvious and he finally learnt to do something to save his marriage. Every day, on his way back from work, he broke off the drive to stop at a chapel along the road home. The doors were open, so why not? There he unburdened and prayed before continuing his trip home. A house of prayer for all nations. That helped save his marriage.

So, Jesus taught us to pray in the usual places- on our mountains for regular private intercession and in our churches or places of religious worship. Yet, if we follow Jesus closely, we find both the usual and the unusual. God’s word encourages a usual place of prayer, but we also catch Jesus praying in unusual places. John chapter 11 shows him praying in front of a grave. Mark 1:35 shows him praying in an unnamed secret place.