Command 35 : Be a House of Prayer | Day 239

Be a House of Prayer!

It had the splendor and magnificence of a world wonder! Thirty thousand strong and skilled men had worked on it for years. (See I Kings 5:13.) It was the pride of the nation and God's dwelling place among men. Its structure, intricate sculptures, detailed carvings, and fine gold coverings were precisely ordered by God Himself.

All Israel was required to travel to this Temple at regular times to bring tithes and offerings to the Lord. Isaiah clearly stated God's purpose for this Temple: “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people” (Isaiah 56:7). Jesus referred to this purpose when He said:

Command Thirty-Five: “... It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:13).

In spite of the awesome splendor of the Temple, it was destroyed because of the people's corruption and immorality. (See Jeremiah 7:13-14.) How, then, can we "dwell in the house of the LORD," and how are we to "inquire in his temple"? (See Psalm 27:4.)

As the Body of Christ, we are a corporate temple of God. Paul states, “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” (II Corinthians 6:16). Furthermore, every believer is also an individual temple. To the individual, Paul writes, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (I Corinthians 3:16).

As a living temple of God, a believer's life is to be characterized by prayer.

The same type of worship that was conducted in the Temple can now be carried out in the temples of our bodies.

• In the days of the Temple on Mount Zion, the worshipers were to enter His gates with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise. (See Psalm 100:4.) Today we are to speak to ourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts to the Lord. (See Ephesians 5:19.)
• Before entering the holy place, the people offered their sacrifices and washed their hands at the laver by the door. We are to offer the sacrifices of praise and cleanse our hands and purify our hearts as we draw near to God. (See Hebrews 13:15 and James 4:8.)
• Inside the holy place were three items: the candlesticks, which represented the light of God's Word; the showbread, which represented the living Word of God; and the continual incense, which represented the day-and-night prayers of believers.
• The most holy place contained the Ark of the Covenant. Only the high priest was allowed to enter this part of the Temple. Now, as believers, we can come boldly to God's throne of grace because of the blood sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. (See Hebrews 4:16.)

Every believer has the glorious liberty to worship: “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God ... in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord ..." (Ephesians 2:19-21). Let's purpose to be a dynamic house of prayer for God!