Joyful in the House of Prayer
These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples. Isa. 56:7
The highest identity of the church is to walk as a house of prayer. Jesus felt strongly about this. He quoted the Isaiah passage when He came to the temple and saw everything but, prayer in His house. As sons and daughters; as the Bride of Christ; we are called to walk in “intimacy based intercession.”
Intimacy
We were created to interact deeply with God’s heart. That’s why “intimacy” is a critical factor. My heart needs to be tenderized and interactive with Father’s heart. Effective prayer is like a circle. He makes His purpose known to you; it stirs your heart and mind; you then speak it back to God in the form of prayer. In the end, He gets all the glory for our prayer lives because we can’t pray without the Spirit inspiring us.
Essentially, God speaks and moves our hearts. Then we speak and move His heart.
United in Purpose
Prayer does not influence God’s purpose; it does however influence His action. He has chosen to limit what He purposes to do, to the extent that His people partner with Him in prayer. So He has a purpose and a plan for an individual, a town, a city, a region, and that purpose becomes a reality as people engage in prayer.
One person expressed it this way: Holy Spirit, pray in me the Father’s will. Father, what the Spirit in me is praying, that is my prayer, in Jesus name.
Breach in the Garden
Adam was a perfect man in a sinless environment. Satan had zero legal authority, which is gained of course through sin. But prayer was still needed and Adam failed to pray in a decisive moment. Hence the first breach in the house of prayer was in Eden’s garden. There’s no autopilot in this process. God takes pleasure in our partnership with Him and it is the only means by which we can successfully steward our lives.
Let’s agree in prayer together: Lord make us, individually and corporately, a house of prayer.