A house of prayer can be likened to the houses of Israel which camped under the banner of the eagle. We know that it was according to this grace of Christ that the Lord brought about a great deliverance for the nation of Israel, bringing them to Himself on eagles’ wings. Wherever people gather together to pray, great deliverance is wrought. This is the work of the heavenly Father to bring us to Himself. We must lift up our eyes and behold the fields white for harvest. We might suggest that the first work of a worthy house is to beseech the Lord of the harvest in prayer, crying out to Him that labourers will be sent forth. The Lord attributed this virtue to Cornelius and his household. The prayer of the righteous man avails much. According to the apostle James, the prayer and vow of the righteous will deliver them.
Sometime later, when there were prophets and teachers gathered at Antioch, Barnabas and Saul were among them. They were praying and fasting and it was in this context that the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them’. Like Cornelius, our prayers and alms ascend as a memorial before the Lord. This is the purest expression of worship. When the apostle Peter came to his house, Cornelius accounted that ‘four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, and he said, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God”.’ It was this prayer of Cornelius which activated a great doorway for the Gentile nations to be brought near to the Lord.
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