“Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold
in it, saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house is a house of prayer,’ but you have
made it a ‘den of thieves.” (Luke 19:45 and 46, NKJV)
This scripture gives us the account of Jesus turning over the tables in the temple
because of the abuse and unfair selling practices of those who sold their wares in
the temple. Jesus quotes the Old Testament prophecy that the house of God would
be a house of prayer, not a den of thieves.
Now we know that Jesus and the prophecy were referring to the temple, the place
of worship. Yet, we can deduce that every house lived in by the children of God
should also be a “house of prayer.” The question is, “is your house a house of
prayer or a den of thieves?”
Is the place where you reside a place where there is regular communing with God?
Is your house a house where God is sought, welcomed, honored and glorified? Or
are you robing God of the time He wants to spend with you in prayer and
conversation? Are you cheating God and yourself by not allotting time spent with
Him? Do you and those who might live in your house acknowledge God as God
and Jesus as the Savior? Are you robbing those who live with you of the love,
loyalty, care, compassion and time they need and deserve? You see, to not
acknowledge and thank God for all the many blessings in your life, is to robe Him
of the Glory due Him. To neglect giving those who live with you the time and love
you with to receive from them is to robe them of the blessings you yourself desire.
So, the question remains, is your house a “HOUSE OF PRAYER, OR A DEN
OF THIEVES?”