"A House of Prayer"...

As breathtaking as the scenery was, the most memorable part of the conference for me was the presentation made by one of the guests on the topic of prayer. I'm sure you know that when I hear anything on this topic my ears suddenly come to attention. Basically the goal of his presentation was to serve as a reminder that our churches should be places where prayer is the central focus of all we do. In his own words he said our churches should be "bathed" with prayer. In other words, prayer shouldn't be an afterthought or an appendage to what we do, but it should serve as the foundation for every decision we make and every ministry we carry out. He reminded us that God's house should be a "house of prayer" (Isaiah 56:7).   

The reason this presentation resonated with me in such a profound way was not because I was hearing something for the very first time, but because it served as a vivid reminder of what took place here in Sligo's sanctuary several years ago when the Lord called our congregation to prayer one Tuesday evening and over 700 responded with their presence. Although the numbers in attendance each Tuesday have been reduced dramatically since that eventful evening, the call to be a house of prayer is as powerful as it has ever been.   

What I took away from that presentation was not that the house of prayer is to be confined within the walls of our church, but rather, the thought that as temples of God, each of us, in our own right, should be a living, breathing house of prayer. If the Spirit of God dwells in us, then every decision we make, every step we take should be placed before the Lord in prayer. As the words to the old hymn remind us;

"O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer."