Mark 11:16

Mark 11:17: “And he was teaching them and saying to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations’? But you have made it a den of robbers.””

Many churches in our culture have become places of commerce, much as the Temple had become in first-century Judaism. Jesus makes it clear that God’s house should be a house of prayer. So make it that!

After Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, accompanied by the shouts of God’s people proclaiming, “Hosanna,” He entered the Temple. It had become a place of commerce. The religious leaders had turned God’s house into a marketplace for worship. How convenient it would be to buy your sacrifice right on the Temple grounds, but sadly, greed and corruption had overtaken this service. It is no wonder Jesus flipped tables and wielded a whip. God’s house was to be a place of prayer, not a den of robbers.

How do you enter the gathering of God’s people? Do you enter with holy reverence and expectancy? Is it to you a place of prayer or something else? Man is not free to make the church a marketing center or a social club. It is to be a people devoted to intimate seeking and spiritual alignment. When we pray, God centers our hearts on Him. May God’s people make corporate prayer a priority. May we gather and engage in the spiritual realm through prayer among His people.

Father, put a passion for prayer within us. May we seek You continually for all that we need. Align our desires and our wills to match Yours. We pray in Jesus’ name, amen.