In Matthew 21:13 Jesus says “my house shall be called a house of prayer”.

During his ministry on earth Jesus stressed a great deal of emphasis on prayer. He taught the importance thru words, like when he taught the disciples how to pray in Matthew 6 and in actions when He was often seen praying in public. We also see in the Bible that He took time alone for prayer. either way we see that Jesus placed a very high importance on prayer.

Jesus also taught on the power of united prayer in Matthew 18:19-20 and the first thing we see the newly born church doing in the book of Acts is forming a prayer group in verses 1:11-14.

So why all the emphasis on prayer?

Jesus knew that if the church were to truly become a house of prayer we would see ourselves and members of the body:

1. More focused of the kingdom of heaven and thinking less about the things of this world.

2. More focused on praising God for His provision and less focused on our own desires.

3. More focused on repentance and expressing Godly sorrow than fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.

Most importantly I think Jesus knew that as a church focused on prayer we would see prideful ness replaced by humble humility and insensitivity replaced by loving service to God and His people.

Prayer changes us and the way we look at things.

Answered prayer is one of the strongest pieces of tangible evidence of God working in our midst . And it is a glorious thing to see souls turning to Christ, healing and provision as a result of our petitions to God.

A church body that becomes “a house of prayer” would find its members strengthened in faith and trust that God is real and He is at work in our lives. We would find it easier to give our testimonies about Christ, find peace through trials and stand firm when faced with temptation because of witnessing answered prayer.

Imagine our church body here in Panama city beach becoming the house of prayer Jesus was speaking of.

 Perhaps one the most destructive forces working against us in our relationship with God is a misinterpretation of scripture leading to a misunderstanding of who God is and who we are in Him. Our understanding of who God is and how He sees us shapes our lives dramatically. Just imagine for a minute that walking into any room in the normal course of any day we see God seated in front of us. What is the reaction on His face when he sees us? The reaction we imagine on Gods face at that very moment tells us a lot about our perception of God. Does He jump from the chair with joy running to hug us and tell us how He has longed to be with us? Is He sitting there tapping His fingers on the table saying we have a lot of explaining to do? Is His head hung in utter disappointment? Knowing the answer to this question tells us a lot about how we see ourselves in our relationship with God. OK now that we have formed an image of God’s reaction to us in our own mind how does it line up with scripture? Does our image match what the Bible has revealed to us about God and our place in the story He is telling?

 We can isolate Scripture to say just about anything and people often do.  Some religious leaders may do it in order to establish control over people or for personal gain.We could develop a constant fear of losing our salvation or think Gods needs our money. There is also a danger of falling prey to “folk” theology when we believe things like “God helps those who help themselves” or “cleanliness is next to Godliness”. Those aren’t even in the Bible. So in your own mind what is Gods reaction when you walk into that room where He is sitting? Does it match the story God is telling in scripture?

 It may be the most important question we ever ask ourselves.

  Usually one of the first things a person will ask me when they find out I am a follower of Christ is whether or not some activity they are involved in is considered a sin. My answer for that is that for each person it’s different. Some things we know are just out and out wrong. Like murder or stealing, but what about more personal things like smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol?  I go back to, for each person the Holy Spirit will deal with him or her on an individual level. There is no written law for a believer to follow. God has placed a burden on each of our hearts to align ourselves with Him and His will and we can trust in the Spirit of God to convict us when we need it and guide us back into Gods will when we humble ourselves and repent. This is great Luke but is what I am doing considered a sin?

  In the movie Grand Canyon, an immigration attorney looks to get around a traffic jam by taking a different route than usual. As he drives on through the back streets it seems to be getting more and more run down and darker till he finds himself in a very desolate area. Then predictably his very expensive car stalls. He quickly reaches for his cell phone and contacts a tow truck driver to rescue him. Before the tow truck driver arrives a gang of tough street punks appears and threatens him with bodily harm if he doesn’t give them his disabled car. Then just in time the tow truck driver pulls up and earnestly begins hooking up the car to the tow truck. The street thugs protest that he is interrupting their heist. The driver takes the leader of the gang aside and says, “ The world aint supposed to be like this. Maybe you don’t know it but this isn’t how it’s supposed to be. I’m supposed to be able to do my job without askin you if I can. And that dude is supposed to be able to wait with his car without you guys rippin him off. Everything’s supposed to be different than what it is here”

  The word Shalom is often used as a greeting in the Hebrew language but its meaning is much more profound than just hello or goodbye. The word Shalom represent the harmony God had intended for the universe and everything in it. His original intention was for us to live out eternity in harmony with Him, each other and everything in the Earth and universe. Sin is the enemy of Shalom. I would think it safe to say that anything that disrupts this perfect harmony or Shalom that God had originally intended could be considered sin.

 Yea but Luke is what I am involved in a sin? I would say that if it disrupts the harmony God intended between Him and us, us and the rest of the human race or us and the Earth (including the animals and environment) it’s probably a sin.

 SHALOM!!!!!