Leviticus 6:13 (KJV)
The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out.
In the old covenant, physical altars were erected to commemorate God’s presence and intervention, serving as a tangible reminder of His blessings and guidance. Some of these altars were built with stones, some with wood, and some others on the high mountain.
In the old covenant, altars appeared in different forms. Some of them are for covenant, forgiveness, offering, worship, intercession and encounters. An altar is a bridge between the physical and spiritual realms, representing a space for communication, worship, and transformation.
But In Christ Jesus, we do not require a physical altar, we have an established altar in our hearts. Our lives have become an altar of prayer, praise, worship and living sacrifice to God. God’s meeting place with the man in Christ is in the heart.
Since the heart of man is the place God meets with the man; the heart must be on fire. The heart must not be lukewarm, cold, passive or inactive; the heart must be on fire. Fire must burn on your altar (in your heart)
The lack of spiritual fire is a lack of energy and enthusiasm. It is a state of inertia, inactivity, inaction, dullness, dormancy, apathy, weariness, passivity, laziness and slothfulness.
Romans 12 : 11 – 12 (AMPC)
11 Never lag in zeal and in earnest endeavor; be aglow and burning with the Spirit, serving the Lord.
12 Rejoice and exult in hope; be steadfast and patient in suffering and tribulation; be constant in prayer.
One way to keep up with spiritual fervency and burning for the Lord is to be constant in prayer. The remedy for spiritual apathy is prayer.
We must be quick to pray, and pray to be quickened!
Every lack or loss in the spiritual devotion is traceable to the prayer life. What keeps a man aflame is prayer! What supplies fire on your altar is prayer.
Colossians 4: 2 (KJV)
Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving.
Paul gave many instructions about prayer in all his epistles. Paul didn’t make prayer a suggestion, he gave it as an instruction. The reason for dead altars is little or lack of prayer.
1 Thessalonians 5: 17 (KJV)
Pray without ceasing.
Prayer is non-negotiable. It must be done urgently and consistently. If there’s anything to attend to without delay, it is to go into your chambers and pray. Prayer is the call of the soul that God cannot deny.
Don’t make prayer your last option, but your first approach. Prepare to pray, and pray to prepare. Learn to pray and pray to learn. Prayer is how we win!
When you have prayed enough, start all over again. Repeat the process again and again.
Don’t burn out; keep yourselves fueled and aflame. Don’t quit in hard times; pray all the harder.
Let your altar burn with holy fervour!