Making Room for Prayer (Pt. 2)

(Part 2)

“Those who went ahead and those who followed shouted, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus entered Jerusalem and went to the temple. He looked around at everything, but since it was late, he went out to Bethany with the Twelve.”

                                                                                                Mark 11:9-11

One thing that caught Jesus’ attention when he entered the temple was that the passion he had just heard in their praise did not carry into their place of prayer. If the only gauge we used to measure spiritual maturity was praise, we would assume that the people were spiritually healthy. However, upon reaching the temple’s outer courts, Jesus was shocked when he observed that the place of prayer had been hijacked and was being used as a marketplace. This obvious discrepancy is what led to his addressing the fig tree in full view of his disciples.

“The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.”

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                      Mark 11:12-14

People who praise without making room to pray are like a fig tree in leaf that bears no fruit.  A person whose life is devoid of prayer will eventually, spiritually speaking, wither and die. Why?  A lack of prayer demonstrates an absolute lack of faith in God.

We pray because we believe that we serve a God that cares about us and our needs. To abandon prayer demonstrates a faith in self, lack of need for God, or the belief that He cares little about our needs. As we begin to demonstrate greater and greater trust in ourselves, we will abandon the place of prayer in our lives. The lack of prayer in our lives is communicating just how much value we truly place on it.

By overturning the tables and running out the money changers, Jesus was establishing the importance of prayer:

“On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple area and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. 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.’”

                                                                                                            Mark 11: 15-17

Jesus was reclaiming and restoring what was being robbed from the people, by expunging those things that were occupying its space. If you abandon the place of prayer, it well get occupied with something! What’s occupying your prayer time?

Pastor Scott Burr                                                                    

http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/