Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)

It is an interesting rhetorical question asked by the Apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. As a local church who was having a difficult time, Paul wants to remind them that they are in Jesus Christ. They are those who have a relationship with Jesus Christ and have received the Holy Spirit, just as Jesus had promised to those who believe in Him. “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18)

In his question, he also states that those who have the Holy Spirit are God’s own and are also the temple of God. When Jesus came to the Temple in Jerusalem, He had found the Temple turned into a marketplace. He chased out those who were selling in the Temple. “And as he taught them, he said, Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’” (Mark 11:17) Jesus references the prophecy of Isaiah where he speaks of God’s Temple being a place that will be for all nations and, thus, a house of prayer for all nations. “And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD to minister to him, to love the name of the LORD, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.” (Isaiah 56:6-7)

When the Temple was dedicated, it was to be a place of prayer. God said, “Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place.” (2 Chronicles 7:15) God is now attentive to the prayers offered by His own who have come to Him through Jesus Christ. In the trials and struggles of life, we are to be people of prayer fighting the battles of life. “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” (Ephesians 6:18) We are to be the temple of God who are in constant and consistent in prayer. Paul would say, “pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

Through our time with God, He desires to change us, and our prayers will be evident of that change. We will want what God desires.  Too often our prayers are about ourselves. God is changing us into a house of prayer for the nations. James would warn of this. “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. . .. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. . .. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” (James 4:3,8,10)

In this life God is making us into His temple. A temple which is a house of prayer. Prayers which are filled with God’s desires for His church and a world in need of Him.

In the Love of Jesus,

Michael Block