Behold They Pray: Discovering God's Design for a Powerful Prayer Life

Scripture paints an incredible picture of God's passion. We see this in the image given when Christ drove the money changers out of the temple. Matthew 21:12-13 records this amazing historical event, "Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them, "It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" There was no question in anyone's mind on this particular day what Jesus considered the temple.

In any place of worship where people gather in the name of God it is to be honored as His house. He proclaims His house a place of prayer. The question then becomes, who guides the direction of the church? Do the God-called leaders who are spending time in prayer? Do the laypersons who have invested much of their lives and resources determine the direction? Possibly it is a combination, a balance between the two. Whatever method or whomever has the authority to provide leadership and initiate activity, good or bad, must be characterized by a passion for prayer. Why? Because it is God's house and He must direct the affairs of the church. He can only do so when those making the decisions are tuned into His divine voice.