• New Testament Reading: Mark 11:1-33
• Old Testament Passage: Psalm 5:1-3
• Points to Ponder

“A House of Prayer”

Do you ever feel uncertain as to what to pray for? Do you ever feel foolish bringing your requests
before God because you believe that He alone knows what is best, and you know that you have no
idea? I do! It’s not that I don’t believe God’s promises regarding prayer, but rather that I often don’t
know what to ask of him?

Jesus entered the city to shouts of praise. Praise is always right. Someone once said that “praise
activates faith” because it focuses our attention on the one to whom we are praying. And as Jesus
made very clear in the incident with the fig tree, faith is essential to effective prayer. Perhaps by
activating faith through praise that focuses on God first, then we’ll know what we should pray for.

But the bottom line is this: God wants his house to be called “a house of prayer”. He wants and
expects us to be praying individually and collectively. Prayer helps us rely on and trust in God to
work in and through our lives and keeps us from becoming prideful in success or discouraged in
defeat. Let’s ask with faith in a spirit of forgiveness and then wait in expectation to see how God
answers that prayer.

• Questions to Consider: There are many reasons that prayers go unanswered, some of which
are beyond our control and have to do with God’s will and timing. However, some obstacles to
answered prayer lie within us -- faith and forgiveness. Are you praying today with faith? Is there
anyone against whom you hold a grudge?