My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations - Attendees of the house

Whilst praying about my message for Sitiawan the Lord just laid this on my heart while praying at the prayer room in the church:

Isa 56:7

"Even them I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations"

Who are these people whom God said He will bring them to His holy mountain (His presence) and to give them joy in His house of prayer. God is saying that even those who are not of the tribe of Israel qualify to be in His presence and in His house of prayer.

They are:

1. Sons of foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord, to serve Him and to love His name, to be His servants
2. Eunuchs who make the choice to follow the Lord and to keep His Sabbaths, to choose what pleases God and to hold fast His covenant

To be in the house of prayer is to be joined with the Lord. Its membership is not exclusive to a certain race or a certain tribe, God welcomes all who choose to love Him and to honor His commandments!

God showed me the 4 important things about building a house of prayer:

1. Attendees of the house
2. Address of the house
3. Activities in the house
4. Authority of the house

Why is it called a "house of prayer"? Why not a "house of discipleship" or a "house of missions" or a "house of evangelism"or a "house of healing"?

This is because when the house of God becomes a prayer power-house, discipleship, missions, evangelism, healing etc will naturally flow as a result of the foundation of prayer established in the house!

In calling His house a house of prayer, God is stating clearly that His priority for us to build our lives and the church as a house of prayer for all nations!

And in commanding us to designate His house as a house of prayer, God does not want us to discriminate against the "sons of foreigners" or the "eunuchs".

"Sons of foreigners" are those who do not belong to the tribe of Israel. They are people from other nations who have chosen to follow Yahweh like:

1. Ruth the Moabitess
2. Naaman the Syrian
3. Rahab of Jericho
4. The Ninevites
5. The Samaritan woman at the well 
6. Cornelius, the Gentile.

They do not have the citizenship of Israel but because of their love for God, they became God's people.

We are the welcome attendees of the house of prayer as we are considered foreigners from a foreign land not being Jews. God is saying that His house of prayer is open to all who are joined to Him and who will keep His covenant. Attendance by all whether Jews or non-Jews are welcomed.

As for eunuchs, they are found all over the Bible, in the OT and the NT.

Eunuchs famously mentioned throughout the Bible:

1. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian eunuch who rescued Jeremiah from the cistern

2. Ethiopian eunuch to whom Philip preached the Gospel to.

Jesus described eunuchs as falling under 3 categories:

Matt 19:10-12

"The disciples said to Him "If a relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it"

God accepts everyone - whether they have a defect on their body, whether they are single or married or whether they choose to remain unmarried.

God does not want us to discriminate against them. He says they are welcome into His house once they choose to:

1. Join themselves to God
2. Choose what pleases God
3. Hold fast His covenant.

He promised them Isa 56:5 "Even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off"

Prayer is open to everyone who have a relationship with the Living God!

We qualify to be children of the Living God even though we are not born Jews. We qualify to be children of the Living God as long as we choose to join ourselves to God, to do the things that pleases Him and to hold fast His covenant.

We need not feel left-out or second-class or despised. We need not feel that we have our physical defects, sicknesses, infirmities or old age disqualify us from going to the house of prayer to pray - God welcomes all who are outcasts into His house of prayer.

There is no restriction for salvation, no condition, no borders between Jew and Gentile, salvation is open to all who would believe and call upon His name!