Repairing Our Altar — E.A. Johnston

The Daily Altar of Prayer

I want to speak to you today, friends, on the importance of maintaining a daily regular quiet time with God and prayer. I believe the man who had the biggest influence upon my own prayer life was my homiletical mentor, Dr. Stephen F. Olford, who taught me how to have a daily quiet time with God and prayer.

Dr. Olford would often say to me, a preacher is only as tall in the pulpit as he has been long on his knees in prayer. I believe most of us have good intentions of maintaining a daily prayer time, but the world presses down on us and life's distractions draw us and soon the altar of our prayer time is in shambles.

Dr. Olford used to tell me the main breakdown morally among pastors was when they stopped having a vital time of prayer. He would tell me, if Satan can get you there in your quiet time, he'll get you anywhere.

Elijah Repairs the Altar of the Lord

The title of my message today, friends, is Repairing Our Altar, and my text can be found in 1 Kings 18. You can turn in your Bibles there now, friends. We will be in verses 30 through 39. I'm going to read us a striking passage about the Prophet Elijah on Mark Carmel, and I'm going to let the Word of God speak for itself today as I read us these 10 verses uninterrupted.

Before I read it, I want you to see how a man of God repairs the broken down altar of the Lord, how it takes both the discipline and the care as he puts everything in order, as he prepares both the altar of his heart in prayer and the altar of the Lord for worship.

I want you to see the result from God's perspective on how he receives this repaired altar and attending sacrifice and offered prayer. Then I want you to see the people's response to this demonstration of almighty power in answer to prayer.

The Blessing of Reading the Word

I'm going to take my time reading this passage to you today, friends, for a reason. Stephen Olford used to tell me, as he taught me how to preach, he would say, God does not have to bless a word you say, but he must bless the reading of his holy word.

I believe too many pastors rush over the Word of God, friends, to get to what they want to say. Here now is the Word of God, and may the Spirit of the Lord be pleased to attend the reading of his holy word.

Elijah's Prayer and God's Consuming Fire

And Elijah said unto all the people, come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the son of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name.

And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as wood contained two measures of seed. And he put the wood in order, and cut the bollock in pieces, and laid them in the wood, and said, fill four barrels with water, and poured on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood.

And he said, do it the second time, and they did it the second time. And he said, do it the third time, and they did it the third time. And the water ran around about the altar, and he filled the trench also with water.

And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.

Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.

And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces, and they said, the Lord, he is the God, the Lord, he is the God. I will stop there, friends. Well, how about you, friend? Perhaps your quiet time with the Lord isn't what it used to be, and if you were honest with yourself, you'd say, that is so.

Examining the Broken Altar of Personal Devotion

Perhaps your altar needs to be repaired as well. Maybe you want to be a force for God in your generation, to where you can be used of God, like an Elijah, in turning the hearts of the people back to the God of the Bible.

I believe God is looking for the man who will take him at his word, and by faith, pray heaven down. I believe when we stand before Christ at the Bema seat, the two things we will regret the most will be our lack of time spent with God in prayer, and our lack of witness for him to a dying world of sinners.

A Prayer for Revival and a Repaired Altar

Oh, well, I want to read you, friends, a little poem I wrote when I realized my own altar before God had become broken down and needed repair. It's entitled, A Repaired Altar. Give me a fire, oh Lord.

Give me a fire for thee. Give me your fire, oh Lord. Let it burn brightly in me. Give me a fire, oh Lord. The wood of my life I give to thee. Consume my ashes, oh Lord, and let a revival begin with me.

Give me a fire, oh Lord. Give me a glimpse of hell and eternity. Make me a fire, oh Lord, so my life may be burned out for thee. Give me a fire, oh Lord. Increase my desire for thee. Make me a flame, oh Lord, that draws others to you through me.

Well, friends, I pray that this little message has been a help to you in rebuilding your own altar before the Lord. Let us pray.