Our focus today is to look at what it means to abide as a tool to build an effective prayer altar. But before we look at the word abide, let us dwell a little into an altar.
In the Old Testament, an altar was an identified location constructed with materials where a sacrifice was offered to God. If offered the right way and the right sacrifices made, God’s reaction would be very evident.
““20 Then Noah built an altar to the Lord and took some of every clean animal and some of every clean bird and offered burnt offerings on the altar. 21 And when the Lord smelled the pleasing aroma, the Lord said in his heart, “I will never again curse the ground because of man, for the intention of man’s heart is evil from his youth. Neither will I ever again strike down every living creature as I have done.” ”
God remembered Noah and took care of the flood; Noah came out of the ark with his family and the animals. The first thing Noah did was to build an altar unto God and sacrifice clean animals unto the Lord. This was the first time we heard about an altar in the Bible; thus, Noah was the first to erect an altar unto the Lord. God never asked Noah to do this, but one can imagine that Noah was appreciative. God was pleased with the sacrifice and vowed never to curse the ground because of man.
Genesis 12: 6-8: “6 Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time, the Canaanites were in the land. 7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.”
When God called Abram, he erected an altar at the place of his visitation as he was traveling. After a while on his journey, Abram erected another altar where he called on the name of the Lord- Prayer. It can be noted that his first altar was a memorial, and his second altar was to commune with God. When God had blessed Abraham with his son Isaac and requested that Isaac be sacrificed, Abraham elected an altar; however, this time, it was in a place directed by God.
Genesis 22:9: “When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.”
Altars became a normal thing from Abraham’s seed. Isaac erected an altar to call on God-Prayer.
Genesis 26:25 : “Isaac built an altar there and called on the name of the LORD. There he pitched his tent, and there his servants dug a well.”
God requested that Jacob build an altar at Bethel, where God visited him and showed him favor.
Genesis 35:1: “God said to Jacob, “Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell there. Make an altar there to the God who appeared to you when you fled from your brother Esau.”
Genesis 35:3: “Then let us arise and go up to Bethel, so that I may make there an altar to the God who answers me in the day of my distress and has been with me wherever I have gone.”
Genesis 35:7: “And there he built an altar and called the place El-bethel, because there God had revealed himself to him when he fled from his brother.”
Altars were also erected for the purpose of animal sacrifices unto God.
Exodus 20: 24 : “ ‘Make an altar of earth for me and sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, your sheep and goats and your cattle. Wherever I cause my name to be honored, I will come to you and bless you.”
In the New Testament, Jesus made the perfect sacrifice and no more physical altars needed to go to God.
Hebrews 10: 10-14: “10 And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 Day after day, every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 and since then, he has waited for his enemies to be made his footstool. 14 For by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ have given us spiritual access to God directly without any physical construction of a place. No priest can hinder anyone's entrance. Access has been made possible for anyone who has put their faith into the finished work on the cross.
Hebrews 13:10: “We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.”
Today, we are the sacrifice at that altar, where the Lord meets for business.
Romans 12:1: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”
Therefore, given the summary above, how can we create a proper altar for fellowship with God through prayers? We will look at the word abide and how it can be used as an effective tool to build our prayer altar unto the Lord.
John 15: 1-8: “1 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
According to John 15:1-8 above, three characters are mentioned: the vinedresser (God the father), the true vine (God the son), and the branch (the church-us). In verse two, there is an emphasis on the location of the branch- “in me,” which means in Christ. Therefore, the fruit-bearing business operates well only when one is in Christ, and more so, the vinedresser works only with such branches seen in Christ. As he takes care of the branches, he is very observant and does not tolerate branches with no fruits. Those are cut off and thrown out so that he can focus on the serious ones who are bearing fruits. He spends more time with such in working (pruning) with them, so they can produce more.
In vs. 4, the word abides show up. Jesus says we should abide in him and him in us. Abide means totally attached; therefore, we must totally trust, rely on, believe in, and depend on the vine. It is a two-way traffic, which means if we abide in him, he will in us, the reason being we are expected to produce and if there is no production, we will be cut off. To produce, we must abide in Christ. On our own, we are not alive. Jesus is the word of God that was made life and dwell among men. Jesus is the life-giver. We are initially invited to dwell in him, then furthermore expected to allow his word dwell in us. This is how growth is achieved.
1. In prayer, we MUST ABIDE in Him, and his WORDS ABIDE in us before we begin asking God for stuff. John 15:7: “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” As this relationship continues to grow, we begin to understand each other and understand what is wanted and what is unwanted in the relationship. Joshua 22:5: “Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
2. Seriousness and Time Investment: If we desire to build a relationship with God, we must be serious, determined, disciplined, and organized. James 5: 6b: The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.” Time is very essential as it is a valuable spiritual currency. If you want to go to school, even if you work every day, would you not create time?
3. Abide can also be looked at as a state of total dependence on God. Galatians 2:20: “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” This can be understood as such only if one has understood and concluded that one is totally dead, and therefore, it’s only in Christ that there is life, and apart from him, nothing else exists.
4. When we abide in him, we are taught his commandments through the power of the Holy Spirit. 1 John 3:24: “Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.”
5. We, therefore, received grace to walk in him, and when people see us, we will look like him. 1 John 2:6: “Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.”
6. It is interesting to note that when we walk in the same way as Jesus, we will not go astray and thus into sin. 1 John 3: 6: “No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him.”
7. The grace to walk a righteous life is a perfect place where the teachings of Christ will have sustainability and, therefore, can testify that one has both The Father and The Son. If both are present, then the Holy Spirit seals the deal (2 John 1:9 &1 John 2:27). 2 John 1:9: “Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son.” 1 John 2:27 “But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.”
8. Humility, seeking for forgiveness and mercy. Tax collectors had money. But here, you can see genius humility. He stood at a distance, acknowledging the sinful nature of his heart. No wonder Jesus was quick to notice him. Luke 18:13-14: “13 But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
9. The Holy Spirit is our teacher and helper. We must build a friendship with the Holy Spirit so that he can teach us the way of true prayer.
Romans 8:26: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”
John 16:13: “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” 1 Corinthians 2:11: “For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”
Prayer Points
1. Ask God to forgive us and show mercy where we have failed.
2. Ask for the Help of the Holy Spirit
3. Ask for the grace that humbles.
4. Ask God for the grace of prayer. It was in prayer that the Holy Spirit visited the Apostles in the upper room. There must be some investment in spiritual currency. Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 2:1-2: “ 1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting.”
5. Ask for a fresh fire, desire, hunger, and zeal for prayers. Leviticus 6:12-13: “12 The fire on the altar shall be kept burning on it; it shall not go out. The priest shall burn wood on it every morning, and he shall arrange the burnt offering on it and shall burn on it the fat of the peace offerings.13 Fire shall be kept burning on the altar continually; it shall not go out.”
6. The grace for the word of God. Prayer cannot go anywhere without knowledge of the word. Both are in a lock and key business. 2 Timothy 2:15: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
7. Seek God to know him from a revelation point of view: Paul said I know whom I have believed. It’s not about information. Know God truly for yourself- if you find yourself sinning, then, you don’t know him.
Philippians 3:8-10: “ 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death.”
2 Timothy 1:12: “That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet this is no cause for shame, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until that day.”