Building the Personal Altar

As a child of God, our greatest challenge will be continuing to walk with God all the days of our lives. This is a top priority job. It is a major shift from our usual way of functioning. It requires discipline.

How to build this consistent intimate connection with God? How to build your Personal Altar?

The FIVE Ps of building your personal altar

• Praise, worship and focus heart and mind on God
• Power of Prayer
• Partnership with the Holy Spirit
• Prophetic intercession of Spirit
• Power of Word

1. Praise, worship and focus heart and mind on God

Learn new songs, learn the songs well and push in the spirit. Be a true worshiper. When you worship, something of the flesh dies and something of heaven is deposited in your life. Read the book of Ruth to understand what Jesus did for us. Ruth is the picture of the gentile church and Boaz a picture of Jesus. When we accept Christ's sacrifice He becomes our kinsman-redeemer. A kinsman-redeemer takes charge of your life, pays your debt, takes care of you, avenges any issue against you; assumes total responsibility for your life. In worship, you understand who He is, what He has done for you. Worship brings rain. God is seeking true worshipers. The devil flees from such water-filled places

2. Power of Prayer

Prayer is thinking, asking and expressing the intention of God. Maintain a prayer journal. Have a blueprint for every area of your life. Place your requests at God’s feet every day, faithfully until it comes to pass. Hang onto God in every situation in every step then the God of peace will crush satan under your feet. How does God crush satan under your feet? Satan always brings in negative emotions in your life. The way to crush him is to access peace

3. Partnership with the Holy Spirit

In Genesis chapter 1 God spoke the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit brought it into existence. So now we are being made into a new creation according to the Word by the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is the author of the Word and where His word is accepted as a blueprint He starts creating anew. He cannot operate without the blueprint in place. If our mind is not renewed by the Word of God we cannot be led by the Holy Spirit. The blueprint of the world should be replaced by the Word. The Word of God should become our core values that determine our behaviour. As we partner with the Holy Spirit He will

(i)                      Establish us in our faith. He will impart faith

(ii)          He will establish us in our love for God. The fruit of which is the increase in our love for other people

(iii)                 He will always exalt Jesus in our life. He will reveal Jesus in our life

(iv)                  He helps us understand how great is God's love for us

(v)                     He will work in us to bring us to the full measure of Christ

(vi)                  Lead, teach, direct, guide us to live accurately in the Holy Scriptures

 

4. Prophetic intercession of Spirit

We receive Word through the Holy Spirit’s illumination of the scriptures. That rhema, that specific word that impacts our spirit will be the starting word for intercession.

The key to intercession is intimacy with God. Intercession is based on God’s character and nature. Intercession is based on knowing the heart of God.   

(i)                   Build up the atmosphere (make Him feel welcome)    

(ii)       Remove conflicts from your heart. Stay away from conflicts for God to enter. The more we are clean internally, God increases externally

(iii)            Taking the prophetic words to declare them into the atmosphere again  and again 

(iv)              Intercede until

-     sense of peace surrounds the place of intercession

-     an awareness of His Presence in thanksgiving

-    a deeper sense of faith in the heart–God has heard. He is in control

-    the grieving is replaced by a floating joyful spirit within

-   our spirit is charged and energized- new and increased flow of the Spirit

-    we feel refreshed and revitalized – we are quickened internally with strength from high above

 

5. Power of Word 

                          The primary purpose of WOG is to come and transform us. The Word comes to reflect what his demands are. The Word comes to set us free. The power of the Word is to transform us into Christ-likeness from the inside - Which is the GREATEST MIRACLE EVER. We received Word through the Holy Spirit’s illumination of the scriptures. The rhema opens our spiritual eyes to see first our weaknesses because it comes to deal the flesh. The Fear of the Lord will be experienced. Holy Spirit quickens our spirit to obey. The (dunamis) Power in Word is addressing us to repent, dismantle & demolish and return. We have to hear correctly and make informed decisions. We subject those things in our lives to the Word. Then the Holy Spirit comes in and adds strength. He has the power to sustain us because we have decided to obey the Word cause of our love for God. 

                     Ideally, the place to focus on God will be a quiet place with no distraction. Since I live in a crowded city and a noisy apartment I chose to walk in a quiet corner of a nearby park, after sending my children to school and worship God. After the pandemic started I was locked down in the house with my whole family. So I created my own quiet space by waking up at least a few hours before the others woke up. This became my personal spot with the Lord. 

I would start by reading the Word until I got the Word that touched me with new strength and vigour. A correcting word. An encouraging word. A word that uplifts my faith. A word that clearly shows how God is operating in my life. As soon as I catch that Word from our Father my heart will start singing with joy. Worship becomes automatic. I would push in the spirit with tongues and new songs from my heart. I would use songs that I already know. Worship led by the Holy Spirit leads us into the holy of holies; into the very presence of God. I worship until I feel a sense of satisfaction. A feeling of nearness to God. 

Then I start my prayer. My prayer war room is built on my mobile using two apps. YouVersion bible app and PrayerMate prayer app. Both the apps equip the user with ways to add scripture to prayer burdens. I keep praying, prophesying, proclaiming about all that I am led by the Holy Spirit to pray. I stop praying when a sense of calm and peace enter my heart and I get a clear direction to start my whole day.