a house of prayer for all nations

Over the last 25 years I have derived tremendous enjoyment from exploring many of Scotlands hills and mountains. One of the early mountains I climbed was the Ben Cruachan horseshoe in Argyll. The climb begins from the edge of Loch Awe before ascending up to a reservoir. From that point the path leads towards ‘a ‘saddle’ or bealach between two of the tops. I will never forget the moment we reached the saddle and were greeted to a tremendous vista stretching up to Glencoe and beyond. However, it did not end there. We then made our way to the summit of Ben Cruachan with its 360 degree panorama of Scotland’s incredible Western side.

Those memories have filled my thoughts over the last week as I have read the towering prophecy of Isaiah in the Hebrew Scriptures. The foothills contain some difficult terrain as Isaiah brings some sobering warnings to God’s disobedient people. However, even in these early approaches we catch glimpses of a better and bigger landscape. Isaiah speaks from “the Valley of Vision” (Isaiah 22:1,5) and anticipates the moment when, in chapter 40, he tops out and is favoured with a grander vision of the glory of God and his purposes for humanity. The breathtaking scope of what he sees 700 years before the coming of Christ is magnificent and fills time and eternity.

Viewing the purposes of God through Isaiah’s eyes, my focus has come to rest on one aspect that has given me much to ponder and enjoy.

From the narrow confines of the land of Israel Isaiah pictures a day in which people from every nation will worship in the house of God (Take time to read Isaiah 56:3-7). Those who were once excluded from God’s covenant people (foreigners and eunuchs) are brought near and welcomed into the family of God as his beloved children. The six marks of the foreigner provide a beautiful description of true godliness:

binding themselves to the Lord,

serving him,

loving him,

worshipping him,

keeping the sabbath,

holding fast to the covenant (verse 6).

And what is promised to the foreigner and eunuch is truly wonderful. “…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” (verse 7).

…joy in my house of prayer…

 

… a house of prayer for all nations.

Centuries later Jesus would underline this marvellous description of the role of God’s people on earth (Mark 11:17). And the writers of the New Testament would address the body of Christ, the church, as the great household of God (e.g. Ephesians 2:19). In our age of individualism it is all too easy to lose sight of the collective vision of the church in nurturing the faith of God’s people and of being a light in our dark world - a house of prayer for all nations.

Someone once said, “More things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of”. If ever there was a time for the church to grasp the significance of its calling to be a house of prayer to the 195 countries in our world, then surely it is today, this very moment! 

(Picture - Ben Cruachan)