The House of Prayer

“And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves; And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.” Mark 11:15-17

As Jesus drove the merchants and the moneychangers out of the temple, He reminded them that God said that His house should be a house of prayer. People came from great distances to make sacrifices and offerings at the temple, and these businessmen made it more convenient for them. Travelers could buy a lamb at the temple instead of bringing one from home. The chief priests justified allowing this market inside the temple because they felt that it was more important to increase the traffic in the temple than it was to bring the people closer to God in their hearts. They valued convenience over spirituality. It is likely that they personally benefitted from the trade going on inside the temple, and they were more interested in protecting their position and their pocketbook than they were in encouraging people to pray.

How careful are we to protect our prayer time from interruption? The Bible says that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and that temple should be a house of prayer.