Altars, where God and people meet.

When I say altars here, I am referring to our prayer time.

We started out our Christian walk responding to an ‘altar call’ when we accepted the salvation offered to us in Christ Jesus, and that was the beginning of many altar calls. It may not have been an actual ‘altar’ that we cried out to God on, but we prayed a prayer. 

I have taken Scripture from the Old Testament about altars and interjected some thoughts about prayer of today. 

In the Old Testament, when anything significant happened between a believer and God, they built an altar of remembrance or they went to an altar to offer various sacrifices. 

Today, we don’t ‘build altars’ or slay animals and offer them on altars, but we still go before God and offer up prayers.

One day while praying, I was impressed with this thought; 

When we pray, 

in away,

we go to heaven.

Our words go to heaven and are kept there.

The book of Revelation mentions the prayers of the saints after the seventh seal is opened, and right before the seven angels prepared themselves to sound their trumpets.

 

And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.Revelation 8:3-6

Jesus taught us to pray.

But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do : for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: 

We come to the altar and pray with praise and respect for our Father:

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 

We come to the altar and pray God’s kingdom come and for God’s will to be done:

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 

We come to the altar and pray for natural and spiritual bread:

Give us this day our daily bread. 

We come to the altar and pray for forgiveness:

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 

We come to the altar and pray about temptation and evil:

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: 

We come to the altar and proclaim that, to God is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:6-13

LAYING IT ALL DOWN AT THE ALTAR

 

The following are some things we can lay down at our altars. Please do not look at this in a religious way, but rather in a living way. All the things listed here are spiritual health to us; freedom to us; a joy to us. God is good. God has blessed us with all that we have in this life. God is beautiful to us. We want our ‘altars’, or our prayers, to be beautiful to Him.

We lay our Sins Down at the Altar

Even though our sins have been dealt with on the cross, we still fall into sin because we are not perfect. When we go to the altar, or go to prayer, we confess any known sins we have committed. If we allow our pride to keep us from doing this, then we have dirtied our altar. It is not beautiful. In the Old Testament, they had to offer clean animals and animals of good quality to the Lord. No, lame, blind or sick animals. Glad we are not required to do that any more. Thank you Jesus! But, when we willingly and habitually sin our offerings are like the lame, blind, and sick animals. How can we approach a holy God with unholy thoughts and actions active in our lives? No worries. God will forgive us if we ask Him to.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

. . Whatsoever touches the altar shall be holy. Exodus 29:37

 

We Lay our Hypocrisy Down at the Altar

When speaking of rituals, of the temple, and of the altar, Jesus told the scribes and Pharisees they were hypocrites in how they viewed the temple and the altar. Back then the temple was great, and the altar sanctified the gift offered upon it. The scribes and Pharisees seemed to have more respect for what was offered on the altar than the altar. In prayer time, we must look to the goodness of the One we are praying to more than how good our prayers might look to Him. Prayer is more than words, prayer is love.

Jesus said, 

Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matthew 23:16-26

We Lay our Idols Down at the Altar

God should be first, not only in our daily lives, but also when we are at the altar spending time with Him. There are always distractions when we are praying, but we must persist on spending quality time with God. We pray our hearts out, and we listen as His Holy Spirit ministers grace, peace, joy, love, and faith to us. At the altar, God is the reason we are there. When prayer time is communion time, holy time, and time truly set apart to spend with God, it is a beautiful altar and time well spent. 

 

In the law, they were not to plant trees near the altar, nor set up any images. The main focus was God.

 

Thou shalt not plant thee a grove of any trees near unto the altar of the LORD thy God, which thou shalt make thee.Neither shalt thou set thee up any image; which the LORD thy God hateth.Deuteronomy 16:21-22

 

If we are serving money more than we are serving God in our daily lives, our altar cannot be beautiful; it will be dirtied by greed.

 

Jesus said, we cannot serve God and money. 

 

No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:13

 

If we are living like the world more than living for God in our daily lives, our altar cannot be beautiful; it will be dirtied by the corruption that is in this world.

 

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.1 John 2:15-16

 

We Lay our Resentments Down at the Altar

Our altars cannot be beautiful if they are tarnished with resentment. We saw in the prayer Jesus taught His disciples to forgive others as God has forgiven us. We are to forgive ourselves as well. 

 

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. Matthew 6:12

 

We Lay the Word of God Down at the Altar

God’s word is perfect. God’s will is revealed in His word. In our prayer time, we should know who God is, and who we are in Him. We know who God is and who we are in Him, by spending time in God’s word before we even go to God in prayer. When we bring God’s word to our altar, by memory, or with our Bibles, it makes our altars beautiful; it makes our prayers beautiful. The word of God is where our faith comes from. We can pray the prayer Jesus taught us. We can pray the prayers of King David. We can pray the prayers of Paul, and so on.

 

I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. 1 John 2:14

 

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. 1 John 5:14-15

 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10

 

We Lay Souls Down at the Altar

When we go to the altar on behalf of others, our altars are beautified with the love of God. Jesus Christ intercedes for us. It is a sacred honor to pray and intercede for others. There are many ways we can pray for others. We can’t go over all of them here. 

 

In Moses’ time, the Lord was going to destroy the people, but Moses ran to the altar for the people.

 

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Get you up from among this congregation, that I may consume them as in a moment. And they fell upon their faces. And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a censer, and put fire therein from off the altar, and put on incense, and go quickly unto the congregation, and make an atonement for them: for there is wrath gone out from the LORD; the plague is begun. And Aaron took as Moses commanded, and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people: and he put on incense, and made an atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Numbers 16:44-48

 

Let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep between the porch and the altar, and let them say, Spare thy people, O LORD, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them: wherefore should they say among the people, Where is their God? Then will the LORD be jealous for his land, and pity his people. Joel 2:17-18

 

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;  For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.1 Timothy 2:1-6

 

We Lay all our Burdens Down at the Altar

When we trust God enough to lay all our worries and all our cares down before Him, we are offering Him something beautiful; our trust. 

 

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7

 

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. Psalm 55:22

 

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:13

 

We Approach our Altar with Abandon

When we hold nothing back at the altar, it is beautiful.  We give God all our praise there. We give Him all our hopes and dreams there. We give Him all our love there.

 

Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise thee, O God my God.Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.Psalm 43:4-5

 

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. Psalm 18:2

BUILDING ALTARS

We are now under the blood of the New Covenant. The blood of Jesus is the only blood sacrifice for sin now. He laid down His life for us. 

Living for God is a sacrificial life. We die daily to selfishness. We offer to God daily, our hearts, our minds, and our bodies, so we can serve Him in all that He wills for us to do. His will is always for us to love; love Him with all our hearts, mind and bodies and our neighbor as ourselves. 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. Matthew 22:37-40

God’s will for us to love one another in deed and in truth. A sacrificial life leads to a beautiful prayer life.

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

We live to serve God; serve others, with our all.

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1-2

In the old, they built an altar whenever something significant happened between them and God.  In the new, we should do the same, not in building a physical altar, but in running to the altar and praying. It is beautiful when we remember God when something significant happens. It is beautiful when we remember where our blessings come from. If we get a new job, or survive a storm, or lead someone to Jesus, we should build an altar right then; acknowledge God’s goodness in prayer right then and there.

Noah

Noah lived through the great flood. That was something very significant between him and God! Noah built an altar after he and his family were rescued and blessed by God. Noah built an altar after God told them it was safe to leave the ark and blessed them. Back then, they offered live offerings.  

Go forth of the ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is with thee, of all flesh, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him: Every beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, and whatsoever creepeth upon the earth, after their kinds, went forth out of the ark. And Noah builded an altar unto the LORD. . . 

Genesis 8:16-22 

 

Abraham 

 

When God promised land to Abraham and his seed, Abraham built an altar.

 

And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he builded an altar unto the LORD, and called upon the name of the LORD.Genesis 12:7-8; 

 

Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the LORD.Genesis 13:17-18

 

And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. And he builded an altar there, and called upon the name of the LORD. . .Genesis 26:24-25 

 

Jacob

 

Jacob built an altar when he pitched his tent.  

 

And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. And he bought a parcel of a field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. And he erected there an altar, and called it EleloheIsrael. Genesis 33:18-20

 

Jacob built an altar when God answered him in his distress and was with him in the way that he went.

 

And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Beth-el, and dwell there: and make there an altar unto God, that appeared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, and to all that were with him, Put away the strange gods that are among you, and be clean, and change your garments: And let us arise, and go up to Beth-el; and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which I went. . .Genesis 35:1-4

 

Moses

 

Moses built an altar when the Lord made him prevail in battle. 

 

And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:. . ..Exodus 17:11-16

 

PRIESTHOOD DUTIES

 

In Christ, we are made priests unto our God. We pray, intercede and perform duties much like the priest did in the Old Testament, but in a living and new way because of Christ Jesus, who is the High Priest over the house of God. 

 

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: 1 Peter 2:9

 

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Revelation 1:5-6

 

It is beautiful when we hear from God at the altar, and what we hear will always agree with the word God has already had written for us.

 

Zacharias a priest of God, heard from God as he was executing the priest’s office before the Lord. It was about having a son. The son was John the Baptist. This word was already written down by the prophets.

 

And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense. And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John. And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb. And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God. And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:8-17

 

Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.

Malachi 4:5-6

 

When we go to the altar to thank God after we’ve crossed over something significant, it is beautiful. 

 

Moses told the elders;

Therefore it shall be when ye be gone over Jordan, that ye shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in mount Ebal, and thou shalt plaister them with plaister. And there shalt thou build an altar unto the LORD thy God, an altar of stones: thou shalt not lift up any iron tool upon them. Thou shalt build the altar of the LORD thy God of whole stones: and thou shalt offer burnt offerings thereon unto the LORD thy God: And thou shalt offer peace offerings, and shalt eat there, and rejoice before the LORD thy God. And thou shalt write upon the stones all the words of this law very plainly. And Moses and the priests the Levites spake unto all Israel, saying, Take heed, and hearken, O Israel; this day thou art become the people of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt therefore obey the voice of the LORD thy God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command thee this day. Dueteronomy 27:4-10

 

When we go to the altar to praise God for giving us the victory in Jesus, it is beautiful. 

 

Joshua built an altar after the victory;

So Joshua arose, and all the people of war, to go up against Ai: and Joshua chose out thirty thousand mighty men of valour, and sent them away by night. And he commanded them, saying, Behold, ye shall lie in wait against the city, even behind the city: go not very far from the city, but be ye all ready: And I, and all the people that are with me, will approach unto the city: and it shall come to pass, when they come out against us, as at the first, that we will flee before them, (For they will come out after us) till we have drawn them from the city; for they will say, They flee before us, as at the first: therefore we will flee before them. Then ye shall rise up from the ambush, and seize upon the city: for the LORD your God will deliver it into your hand. . .Then Joshua built an altar unto the LORD God of Israel in mount Ebal, Joshua 8:1-7, 30

 

SOLOMON’S PRAYER 

At the dedication of the temple, King Solomon prayed before the altar he had made for the Lord. He prayed on his knees with his hands reaching toward heaven. We make proclamations in prayer too. King Solomon built a house for the Lord, in Christ, we are the house of the Lord, and we are a house of prayer. We proclaim the goodness of the Lord at our altars; when we pray!

 

King Solomon said, 

And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of David my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.

Summary of Solomon’s proclamations 

There is no one like God, in heaven above, or on earth beneath

God keeps covenant and mercy with His servants that walk before Him with all their heart: 

God’s word verifies that He has spoken

God’s eyes are open to His house (we are the house of prayer)

God hears from heaven

God forgives and judges righteously

God condemns the wicked and justifies the righteous

God heals and restores

God teaches us the good way

God provides

God hears the stranger

God maintains the cause of His people

If we repent and return to God, God forgives

God gives rest unto His people

None of God’s promises fail

God is with us

God will not leave or forsake us

We incline our hearts unto God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, statutes, and judgments Read 1 Kings 8:20-62 

 

PRAYER

Father, In Christ, we are Your house; a house of prayer. May we beautify our altars with Your word. May we never soil them with unconfessed sin. Reveal to us any hypocrisies, idols, and resentments, so we can leave them at the altar. We also lay all our burdens down there and give You all our hopes, and all our dreams, all our love. We intercede for others there, and may the answers to the prayers give You all the glory. Help us be faithful messengers of Your truth, turning others from their sin, and unto You. May we never depart from your ways and never cause another soul to stumble. May we discern the difference between what is good and what is evil and never question Your judgments. May we adorn our altars with a multitude of praises and thanksgiving unto Your great Name and Ways! May our altars be as beautiful unto You as You are beautiful unto us. In the name of the High Priest of our profession, Jesus Christ the spotless Lamb of God, we pray. Amen