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Why is a church building sometimes
referred to as a "House of Prayer?"

This comes from a scripture passage where Jesus rebuked moneychangers and vendors who were selling sacrifices in the outer court of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem. Besides a violation of the Sabbath laws, Jesus considered this as exploitation of the sacredness of God's house. Quoting from Isaiah 56:7, He scolded them, "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves." (Matt. 21:13).

The old covenant temple was, indeed, intended to be a house of prayer, a place that was holy and sacred, where God correlated with His people. However, technically speaking, this really cannot correspond to a church facility, because under the new covenant of Christ, the believer becomes God's temple. While every church facility should be dedicated for prayer, in today's era God's people are the house or "household" of prayer, the tabernacle in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. "Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16).

Needless to say, Christians should be a people of prayer, dedicated to a life of spiritual devotion to God. Prayer is indispensable to the Christian life and is the key that will open the door to God's provisions, divine guidance, and solutions to every problem. The scriptures say, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thes. 5:16-18).