Are Temple Prayers Better?

Jesus had just finished improvising a small whip and was about to clear the great temple in Jerusalem of the moneychangers and the merchants when He reminded the "den of thieves" of the original purpose of the temple they defiled:

And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer;
--Matthew 21:13

The temple is a particularly good place for me to pray. Being in the House of the Lord puts me in a mindset to pray. In the temple I set aside the distractions of my busy life. I am surrounded with symbols of God's presence and love. I see Christ's atonement represented in the ordinances. I am invited to participate in the true order of prayer. And I am surrounded by others in the attitude and spirit of prayer. God does not hear better in the temple -- there is nothing mystical about it. I can simply be in a better attitude to pray when I am in His house. My prayers are not more acceptable or effective in the temple, but I can feel more acceptable and effective when I am there.

United Prayer Brings Heavenly Fireworks

Jesus's disciples wanted to know which one of them would be the greatest in heaven. This question prompted the Master to teach a series of parables and precepts about humility, being a responsible shepherd, avoiding evil, and making peace with those who would offend them, ending with an injunction to prayer together in unity:

Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
-Matthew 18:19

We strengthen one another through prayer. When we agree on the thing we need and unite our desires, our prayers are additive. They compound one another. Jesus commanded us to be one, unified, and singular in our faith. When we pray together, the unity of faith has a powerful effect. 

God is pleased with righteous unity, and it appeals to His sense of economy when He can answer many prayers with a single action. God wants to bless us, and when we all ask for the same blessing, His power is unleashed in a spectacular display. Like heavenly Fourth of July fireworks, He will dazzle us and awe us with His power. He will not just move the mountain, He will blow it away.

Are you praying for someone who needs a special blessing? Ask others to join you, and then watch the Lord go to work!

How a Mustard Seed of Faith Moves a Mountain of Grace

Jesus descended from the Mount of Transfiguration to find His disciples in a pickle. A man had brought his terribly afflicted son to the disciples for a healing blessing, but they had been unable to provide the cure. The father approached Jesus and begged for help, and Jesus immediately cured the boy. The disciples then came to Jesus and asked what had gone wrong that they had been unable to heal the boy.  Jesus spoke bluntly. "Because of your unbelief." He then taught them the parable of the grain of mustard seed, saying that even the tiniest bit of faith would be sufficient to move a mount. But then He added this footnote to his teaching: 

Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.
--Matthew 17:21

Prayer and fasting are needful preparations for the development and exercise of faith unto power. Prayer puts us in direct connection with God, the source of all power. In sincere prayer we subject ourselves to His will and we learn His intentions for us. His Holy Spirit makes known to us the mountain He wants to move with us. 

By going to Him often and listening carefully, we can learn what He expects us to do and when it is time for us to step back and watch Him work. 

Our shovelfuls may seem insignificant, but they are our necessary contributions, not in moving the whole mountain, but in building our strength and convincing us that only God's power can complete the job. He asks us to try on our own, not to discourage us, but to help us see the reality of the task and convince ourselves of our insufficiency. Then, when He steps in with His power and moves the whole mountain with a single sweep of His hand, we can better appreciate the gift of His grace.

Not Really Alone

Immediately after feeding the five thousand with two fish and five loaves of bread, Jesus sent His disciples across the Sea of Galilee. Matthew then records: 

And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.
-- Matthew 14:23

Jesus's most powerful and intimate prayers came when He was alone on a mountain. Because of the degraded and defiled state of the temple in Jerusalem, the pristine silence of the mountains had become Christ's sacred precinct for communing with His Father. 

We each must find our sacred place where we can be alone, quiet, and in tune with the Holy Spirit, be it the temple or our closet. It is when we are alone that we can sense that we are not really alone. Although the gospel writer did not report the substance of Jesus's prayer on the mount, we can assume it was not a monolog.

Even Jesus needed to escape the distractions of the world and His daily service to immerse Himself in the presence of God. Alone and unobserved, we can be ourselves - our true selves. And when we are ourselves, God can be Himself with us. 

Not a Vending Machine

To set the context, Jesus spoke the words quoted below immediately before He gave what we now call the Lord's Prayer: 

Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
-- Matthew 6:8

If God already knows what we need, why did Jesus teach his disciples to pray? Why did Jesus retire often to quiet places to pray? Why does the call to pray permeate the scriptures? What is the point of prayer if God already knows what we need and what we are praying about? 

Prayer is not for God but for us. Make no mistake, I truly believe He knows what we need. We, however, need to remember where our blessings come from. We must not take grace for granted. God is not a vending machine. He wants us to talk to Him, build a relationship with Him, trust Him, and listen to Him. And so, He allows situations and trials to arise in our lives to bring us to Him with our needs and desires, from which we learn humility and gratitude. When we draw closer to our Father, the price is worth it.