Devo Luke 19:45-48

45Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling.
46”It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you
have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” 47Every day he was teaching at the temple. But
the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were
trying to kill him. 48Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people
hung on his words.

Meditation:
1. Our churches are centers for many good things, but is prayer an overriding
concern or simply a nice extra? Is it the heart and soul of the body of believers
who meet here? It is the people who are the temple of God in the New
Testament; it is us who are the house of prayer. But how much of a house
of prayer are we? Are we full of buying and selling? Are we a place where
spiritual greed, theft, and religious sleight of hand are firmly lodged? Jesus
thought it very important. Perhaps he felt without that communion with
God the Father nothing else would ever make any difference, the lost would
never be found, those enslaved would never be freed.
2. Do I share that same passion for prayer in my body, the temple of God? Do
I believe it is so critical, so essential that everything else is at risk without it?
3. Do I pray faithfully according to the PGC prayer calendar? If not, then
starting from this week, always remember to bring the Sunday Worship
Bulletin home. Use the Weekly Prayer Guide to pray for our church, the
different ministries, people’s needs, missionaries, and other matters. May I
become a true “house of prayer”.

Personal Note:
There are many things that happens at Crossroad.  I would like prayer to be the center in Praise Leading, Small Group, Discipleship groups, Worship Service.  I would like to have prayer meetings in the morning to dedicate our work to God.  I belong to God and my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.  Is my heart and soul centered on prayer or on the worldly and destructive things of this world.

I have to confess that when I read this passage years ago, I condemned the people who were buying and selling and making God's house like a market place.  In today's churches, I would condemn those who come to church for the purpose of finding potential clients for their business.  In fact, there is an item in the church bulletin that address this issue.  Looking at this passage now, I realize that my heart is far from being the house of prayer.  My heart is full of worrying about buying/selling and the needs of this world.  Instead of being preoccupied with burdens and worries, I am to seek first God's kingdom and righteousness.  Practically, I am to lift all worries and burdens to God in prayer.

I thank God for revealing the true condition of my heart through prayer.  After praying, I got a better perspective of what really matters.  Praying is the most important thing I am to engage in.

I am going to discipline myself in praying faithfully according to the PGC prayer calendar starting this week.