You Are Not Alone

Building Your Altar

     Hello! I hope you had a great week! Today is the 10th article I am writing for the You Are Not Alone encouragement! I hope I have encouraged at least one person on here. I want everyone to know that you are all loved and cherished. 

     Sorry that I'm posting a day late. I have been busy with a children's revival and completely forgot to post yesterday! I'll do better next time! 

     How do you start your morning? What is the foundation of your day? Scrolling through your social media maybe? Playing a "quick" idle game that sucks you in for twenty minutes? That book that you've been dying to read? That video or movie that you've been dying to watch? The results of last night's game that you weren't able to see? Do you immediately get up, get ready, and are out of the house before you have the chance to do even one of these things?

     Or is the first thing you do in the morning grabbing your Bible off your nightstand and reading it, filling your mind with the thoughts of God before anything else? Is the first thing you say thanking God for waking you up, or complaining that you didn't get to sleep in?

     A negative mindset is so much easier to get into than a positive one. But don't beat yourself down because you didn't pray first thing this morning. I struggle with it too. It's not easy, but it certainly isn't impossible. 

     Today, I am talking about building your altar of prayer.

     Now, I don't mean an actual altar with statues of gods and incense. An altar is a place you always go to spend time with the Lord. A sacred place of worship. Where you can be intimate with God and build a relationship with Him. A place where you can study, pray, cry, laugh, and do everything else that you do when you are communing with God.

     Why is an altar so important?

1.) When a place is dedicated to God, you can feel the difference. He will open a gateway, and you will have supernatural encounters there. Like church, for an example. Our church is dedicated to God, and because of that, our services are amazing. Genesis 28:10-22 is a good example of this.

2.) Having a dedicated altar in a quiet place feeds your spirit's need for separation and solitude.

     Everybody needs time with God. It doesn't matter if you're an introvert, like me, or an extrovert. Whether you're a boy or a girl, a mother, or a father. If you are alive and breathing, you need time alone with God. We are made to commune with Him.

3.) Having in a altar in your home helps you develop the daily discipline of spending time with God. 

     Find a place you want to go, to talk with God. Make it comfortable. Make it desirable. Discipline yourself. Say, "I NEED to do this. I NEED to be in this spot right and worship my God. I may not want to, but I NEED to."

     But how do I do that? you might say. You make it seem so easy, you might think. But, it's not easy. It's something that the devil NEVER wants you to do, so he'll make it EXTREMELY hard, and the temptation to just skip prayer will be...so strong. But then, all the more reason to do it. 

     In the beginning if your prayer journey, an hour seems....impossible. How can I pray for 45 minutes, when I can barely reach 10? What do I do? What do I say? How do I say it? Where do I go from here.

     10 minutes in prayer is not bad. 5 minutes is not bad. The fact that you are praying at all shows discipline and growth. You're growing! When I first started trying to pray everyday, I couldn't get any further than 15 minutes. I just couldn't. I ran out of things to say. But, I've grown. I started at 15, but now I can easily go 45! How long you pray doesn't matter. What matters is giving it all to God, and being genuine.

     "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."(John 4:24)

     Building your altar takes time. It takes a desire. It takes discipline. It takes consistency. Your altar cannot be built in a day. It cannot be built in a week. It takes 21 days to build a habit, and it takes 90 to build a lifestyle. Have you given your prayer life at least that? 

     Building an altar doesn't just involve prayer. It involves reading your Bible, diving yourself into the Word, doing the things the Word commands, and keeping a right attitude as you live the godly life. 

     "Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity." (1 Timothy 4:12)

     "Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things." (Philippians 4:8)

     How to make an altar of prayer.

1.) Pick a place that is quiet and away from anything else. Pick a place where nothing distracts you. No mess, no technology, no noise, except maybe some worship music to pray to. Make sure it is clean and free of anything that keeps you out of a prayerful mindset. Starve your distractions. Feed your focus.

2.) Keep your Bible materials in this area. Your Bible, a notebook, highlighters, pens, etc. A blanket or pillow so you're comfortable. Maybe even some tissues. You never know when you might need them.

3.) Make sure it's a desirable place. Find a spot you WANT to go to. A beautiful spot. Make it something special, because that's exactly what it is. Having your own altar is so important, necessary, and special for a prayer warrior.

4.) Start praying! Just give it all to God! 

     The Bible commands us to pray. I Thessalonians 5:17 says, "Pray without ceasing." John 15 talks about abiding in God's Word and abiding in Him. Abide in prayer and in His Word!

     "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of man. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But 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 will reward thee openly." (Matthew 6:5-6)

     You are not too young to have a prayer life. You are not lacking the ability to be a prayer warrior because you're "only 13." If you can receive the Holy Ghost as young as 2 or 3, why can't you begin to build a relationship that young?

     Now, don't say that you can receive the Holy Ghost or know how to pray that young. One of my younger cousins was filled with the Holy Ghost that young, so it can, and does, happen.

     Backing up to, "What do I say?" Finding the words can sometimes be difficult. "I've repented and asked God to help with my prayer requests, but it's only been a few minutes. 1.What else do I say?"

     All I can say is worship! Thank Him for His goodness, for His strength, for what He is going to do in your very situation. Tell Him how good He is! Use scriptures like Isaiah 9:6, John 10:11, and Revelation 1:8 to tell Him how great He is!

     A list of other examples you can look at in your Bible that tell what God is:

1. Creator: Genesis 1:!

2. The Lord: Isaiah 42:8, 45:5

3. The only wise God, among other things: I Timothy 1:17

4. Emmanuel: Matthew 1:23

5. Great Lord: Psalm 147:5

     And there are many, many more! 

     Your altar/prayer closet doesn't have to be a literal closet. It could be a corner in your room, your bed, a chair, your car, your bathroom, or even your actual closet. Anywhere that you can be alone with God. Anywhere you can grow in Him without the distractions of this world.

      I hope this helped you in some way! I'm sorry if it's a little long, but I wrote it to encourage and motivate you! Remember, you are loved. You are cherished. You are not alone. God bless. Have a great week!