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The Altar that Alters

Mark 11:17 – “Then He taught, saying to them, ‘Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ‘den of thieves.’”

            Samuel Chadwick writes, “The one concern of the devil is to keep Christians from praying.  He fears nothing from prayer less studies, prayer less work, and prayer less religion.  He laughs at our toil, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when we pray.” God is calling us back to the altar that alters. He is calling us to rebuild the broken and neglected altars in our personal lives, our families, and our churches.

In Genesis 26 Isaac re-dug the wells of his father Abraham.  We learn in Genesis 26:1 the land was affected by famine. Genesis 26:1 reads, “There was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham.  and Isaac went to Abimelech king of the Philistines, in Gerar.” Like Isaac of old we are living in a time of famine.  It is not a famine of food, but a famine of the pure undefiled Word of God. The Prophet Amos writes, “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord GOD, “that I will send a famine on the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD.”

The altar is a place to meet with God. It is a place of sacrifice. Listen to the words of David in 1 Chronicles 21:24, "For I will not take what is yours for the Lord, nor offer burnt offerings with that which costs me nothing." Unlike the Old Testament worshipper, we bring what 1 Peter 2:5 defines as a "spiritual sacrifice." The author of Hebrews writes in Hebrews 13:15, "Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

The altar that alters will be a place of instruction. It will be a place to meet with God to listen for His instructions. In Revelation 2:7 we are instructed to "hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches." The Lord is calling His people to return to the altar of prayer. When we bring our spiritual sacrifices to the altar it will become the altar that alters.

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