(Part
3 of 3)
“And as he taught them, he said, “Is it
not written: “My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But
you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” The chief priests and the teachers of the
law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him,
because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.”
Mark
11:17-18
Beware
of becoming religious! The response to Jesus’ declaration to restore prayer to
the spiritual life of Israel was swift. Unfortunately, the response was not one
of repentance and vowing to return prayer to its proper place, but instead
Jesus’ plea was met with a rebellious response housed in the form of religious
indignation.
If
fact, the religious leaders response to Jesus’ emphasis on prayer was the
classic retort of many who are unwilling to repent of their sin; kill the
messenger! They would rather kill Jesus before they would toss out those things
that were occupying their lives; causing them abandon prayer as a vital
component of their faith.
So
it is with many people today. They would rather ignore the scripture, redefine
faith, belittle pastors, and degrade the church before they would toss out
those things in their lives that have caused them to abandon prayer as a vital
component of their faith.
Their
actions speak volumes to the real depth of their spiritual maturity. In fact,
in my opinion, our time spent in prayer is a better indicator of our faith in
God than our praise could ever be. Praise demonstrates our appreciation and
thankfulness towards God. Prayer communicates our dependency on Him.
By
eliminating the place of prayer, the religious leaders of Jesus day were
proclaiming that they had stopped depending on God. They had no problem
praising God and offering up adoration, but they abandoned the discipline that
expressed a dependency on Him.
Armin
R. Gesswein once said, “If you want to see how popular the church is, attend
Sunday morning worship. If you want to see how popular the pastor is, attend
Sunday evening. If you want to see how popular God is, attend the prayer
meeting.”
How
about you? Have you abandoned the place of prayer? What is occupying the time
that you spend in prayer? Do you attend the prayer meeting at your church? Does
your church even have prayer meetings?
It
is time to toss over some tables and drive some things out so that we can once
again make room for prayer!
Pastor
Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
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