The Altar of Prayer

Don't put the cart before the horse

The depth of our prayer life will correlate to the depth of our spiritual life.

1. Repair the Altar of the Lord
   

^{I kings 18: 30-32}

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” ³² and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed.

1. The Biblical Representation of the Altar

2. Elijah had to rebuild the altar because the Altar that had been neglected

Prior to the fire falling from heaven the altar had to be repaired.

Revival doesn’t come, breakthrough does not come, increase doesn’t come, spiritual growth doesn’t come on broken altars.

The root of neglecting:

1. Living in rebellion

2. Dependency on self

3. Apathy

4. Unlearned

5. Misplaced priority

6. External pressure

^{Luke 22: 45} And when he rose from prayer, he came to the disciples and found them sleeping for sorrow,

C. Return to the Altar of prayer to its proper place

Prayer is not an à la carte menu option for the believer, it is not our last resort it is our first response.

Revival does not begin in our city until we return to and rebuild the altar of prayer to its proper place.

^{2 Chronicles 7:14}

¹⁴ if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

1. Humble ourselves

2. Pray  

3. Seek Him

4. Repent  

Sin short circuits the connection in the prayer line.

^{James 5}

16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

D. Utilizing the prayer altars in your own life

“Whoever controls the Altar Controls the Outcome” Rick DuBose

“If you are a pastor your personal altar’s the lid of your church’s praying, if you are a parent it is the lid of your family's altar.”

The Personal Altar

- an altar formed by your personal prayer life.

The Home Altar

– an altar that values prayer in each family's home.

The Core Altar

– an altar that is comprised of core individuals in the church that are the leaders of the charge, have the vision, and intercede for the work of the kingdom.

The Community Altar

-The altar by which the people of God are coming together to pray for each other and in agreement

The Miracle Altar

– The altar that is an intentional place and commitment to praying for the miraculous.

The Salvation Altar

- The altar that is praying for lost people to surrender to Jesus as Savior

2. Realign Dependency on the Father
   

^{I kings 18}

³⁶ And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word.³⁷ Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.”³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. ³⁹ And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”

1. Jesus modeled and taught praying with dependency to the Father

^{Matthew 6:9}

⁹ Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

^{Mark 1:35}

³⁵ And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed.

2. Elijah was dependent upon God

3. The prophets of Baal relied on performance while Elijah relied on relationship.

4. Elijah was operating in obedience to the word the Lord had given him.

5. He had a nature just like us but it was his dependency on God that made the difference.
   

James 5:17-18 ¹⁷ Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. ¹⁸ Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.

3. Release the Power of heaven

4. Dependency precedes Demonstration

5. Prayer precedes the supernatural
   

Acts 4:31 ³¹ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Acts 12:5  ⁵ So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Paul and Silas in prison Acts 16:25-26 Prayed, earthquake and release from prison.

Paul and Barnabas sent out after prayer and fasting Acts 13:1-3

4. Remain Steadfast
   

I kings 18

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees.⁴³ And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. ⁴⁴ And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man's hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” ⁴⁵ And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

1. Prayerful persistence with continued expectation leads to God’s timely breakthroughs.
   

2. You can always be sure that God’s promise will come to completion. He is faithful!