HOUSE OF PRAYER

  

By Rev Michael Benson 

Matthew12;12 -13 " And  Jesus went into the temple of God, and  cast out all them that sold and bought  in the temple, and overthrew the tables  of the moneychangers, and the seats  of them that sold doves, And said  unto them, It is written, My house shall  be called the house of prayer; but ye  have made it a den of thieves." 

      Acts 13:1-2:" Now there were in the church that  was at Antioch certain prophets and  teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon  that was called Niger, and Lucius of  Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been  brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and  Saul.  As they ministered to the Lord,  and fasted, the Holy Ghost said,  Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the  work whereunto I have called them".

    The religious people In Jesus' time as they are today monetized the worship of God. Worshippers had to pay money for the temple services , prayer was for sale as it is today . You paid money to be  prayed for . Prayer became a means of exploiting God's people .A woman was told to pay N650,000 to prayer warriors to go and uproot  some bottles where her destiny was buried in the village ,according to them.

 When she could not pay for lack of money she ran to me showing me some clothes and coconuts she bought for the rituals .   I taught her the scriptures for about two hours and told her to go home and as proof of the authenticity of the scriptures she will receive a breakthrough  without paying any thing .Two days later she called to say she was awarded a contract in an oil company worth millions of naira.

    Prayer is a two-way dialogue , in Acts 13:1-2 God spoke to a group of persons at the same time .The relationship between the born again believer is like that between a loving father and his beloved son. It is different from that of idol worship or religion were a person speaks to a priest who then spoke to the so-called spirits with no reply. 

   We have a living way to approach the heavenly Father in prayers , the Bible says " Having therefore, brethren,  boldness to enter into the holiest by  the blood of Jesus, " By a new and  living way, which he hath consecrated  for us, through the veil, that is to say,  his flesh;  And  having an high priest  over the house of God;  Let us draw  near with a true heart in full assurance  of faith, having our hearts sprinkled  from an evil conscience, and our  bodies washed with pure water. " Hebrews 10:19-22

   Another example of the living way of prayers is that of Peter and Cornelius .The Bible says " Cornelius stared at him in terror. “What is it, sir?” he asked the angel.And the angel replied, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have been received by God as an offering!  Now send some men to Joppa, and summon a man named Simon Peter.  The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon, Peter was very perplexed. What could the vision mean? Just then the men sent by Cornelius found Simon’s house. Standing outside the gate, hey asked if a man named Simon Peter was staying there. They said, “We were sent by Cornelius ..' You can see the interaction between God and man in prayers in this scripture.

   Jesus Christ has opened a direct communication channel with the Heavenly father. Whenever you pray expect a reply from him concerning whatever issue brought before him

 Prayer: Heavenly father forgive me of my sins against you I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation I receive him as Lord and saviour and ask that you fill me with your holy spirit with the ability to hear your voice.

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