"I will make them joyful in my house of prayer."
Isaiah 56:7 ESV
"How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word."
Psalm 119:9 ESV
"Listen, son of mine, to what I say. Listen carefully."
Proverbs 4:20 TLB
When my wife and I married, it was prayed on our wedding day, "Lord, help these two fight not against each other, but with each other." Those words, spoken by each of our fathers, have rung deep in my spirit and in our reality as we live out our call to be a house of prayer in my family.
Eight years later, our family is strong and united in our resolve to be a house of prayer, but it was not always easy, nor was it ever "handed to us". In your home, whether you are single, married, parenting or being parented, I encourage you with this same word. Fight not against each other, but with each other, and in doing so, be a house of prayer for the Lord.
Isaiah 56:7 calls us to be a house of prayer and promises that we will experience the joy God intended for us in that place. Let us incorporate worship, times of prayer, and a call to holy living as standards for ourselves and our children, as well as in our marriages. How do we do this? By living according to God's word (Psalm 119:9). Feast on the scriptures together! Sing to the Lord and about the Lord often using songs, hymns and Psalms on a regular basis (Ephesians 5).
When we are joyful together as a house of prayer, not just as individuals but collectively, we will experience the joy and the purity that God's word promises. Beloved, in an age where families are being torn apart by doubt, impurity and hardness of heart, let us stand firm in prayer and in the Word of God as we stay connected to God our Father through Jesus Christ.
Our children, our spouses, as well as our neighbourhoods and our world depend on it. Let us be the light Christ intended for us to be: One home at a time.