Jesus arrived in Jerusalem, and this time He would never leave the vicinity of Jerusalem until His death and resurrection. He went to the temple, and He cast out those who were buying and selling in the temple. Jesus overturned the moneychangers' tables and the seats of those selling doves. He also did not permit anyone to carry goods through the temple. Then He taught and said to them, "Is it not written, "My house shall be called the house of prayer for all the nations? But you have made it a robbers' den." And the chief priests and the teachers of the Law heard what Jesus was teaching, and they began to seek how to kill Him, for they were concerned that people were amazed by His teaching. (Mark 11:15-18).
All the religious leaders knew that the temple should be a house of prayer, but because their hearts were not of God anymore, everything they did was about themselves and not God. All the religious prayers and rituals they did were no longer from their hearts but were just actions that made them feel good about themselves. However, Jesus saw their hearts, and He rebuked them. As believers, we need to examine our hearts and see where our hearts are before God. Do we pray from our hearts, or are our prayers from our minds and memorization? When we go to church, is it to worship God or to make us feel good that we went to church? When we give to the church, is it an act of worship or to get favor from God? The Bible says that we are the temple of God (1 Corinthians 3:16). It is time for us to worship God in everything we do, for our loving God always searches our hearts.
We must always remember that God wants our worship. If we feel that we have not been worshiping God from our hearts or feel distant from Him, we need to ask God to change our hearts and give us a heart of worship. God is the only One who can help us to be His worshippers. If we want our prayers to be heard, we need to pray from our hearts and worship Him with everything we do.
Ask yourself these questions: How is my relationship with God? Am I seeking Him daily? What should I do when I feel distant from God?
Write down all the worries you are facing today and lift them up to God.
Prayer:
Father in Heaven, forgive me if I have been superficial in my walk with you. Please give me the heart of worship. Please restore the joy of my salvation and draw my heart closer to you. I confess all my sins to you, and please forgive me. Please help me and teach me to pray. When I go to church, please help me to worship you with my whole heart. When I serve, I pray that it will be honoring to you. In your name Jesus, I pray. Amen.