Building An Altar

God often disrupts our routines to draw us into something deeper. Throughout Scripture, when His people faced moments of challenge, spiritual dryness, or the anticipation of breakthrough, their response was to pause. They fasted, prayed, and gathered with hearts fully set on seeking Him. A recurring theme in these moments is the building of altars — places of encounter, remembrance, worship, and consecration. At pivotal times, God's people built altars to seek His presence and aligned themselves with His purposes. Today, we respond to that same call — to pause, pray, and consecrate ourselves before Him, believing for His presence to meet us here.

The Call To Build An Altar

In Exodus 20:25, God commands, “If you make an altar of stones for Me, do not build it with dressed stones, for you will defile it if you use a tool on it.” Altars were to be built with uncut stones — untouched by human hands or tools. Why? Because any human attempt to shape or perfect the stones would corrupt what was meant to be sacred. This command reveals an often-forgotten truth about worship and consecration: God desires the natural, unrefined, and honest offering of our hearts. When we try to "perfect" our offering through self-effort or performance, we lose the purity of coming before God as we are; trusting in His grace rather than our own works.

Today, we come as those uncut stones — imperfect, unshaped, and yet, called to build an altar. Just as Jacob, after his vision of the heavenly ladder, built an altar at Bethel and declared, “Surely the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.” (Genesis 28:16), we, too, must recognise this sacred moment. This is where heaven meets earth, and where we meet God.

Being Built Together As An Altar

In the New Testament, the idea of an altar extends beyond stones and sacrifices. The Apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:22 that “in Him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” The church is not just a collection of individuals, but a unified people being shaped by the Spirit to become a dwelling place for God’s presence. We are living stones, being built into something sacred and holy (1 Peter 2:5).

As living stones, we are called to consecrate ourselves — to set ourselves apart for God's purposes. Holiness, in this sense, is not about perfection but about being set apart for God's use. As we gather today, we are not just attending a gathering. We are presenting ourselves before God as a collective altar, offering our lives, our worship, and our prayers as a sacrifice to Him.

The Purpose Of The Altar

Altars in Scripture are places where God’s people both consecrate themselves and encounter the living God. On Mount Carmel, Elijah rebuilt the altar of the Lord that had been broken down, prayed, and watched as fire from heaven consumed the sacrifice (1 Kings 18:36-39). This fire did not just burn the offering; it consumed the stones, wood, and even the water around the altar. What followed was a collective cry from the people: “The LORD, He is God!”

As we build our altar today, let us expect God to meet us. We are not here to go through the motions but to experience His presence in a fresh way. We come as we are, allowing the fire of the Spirit to refine us for His purposes.

Consecration Requires Surrender

To be truly consecrated, we must relinquish control of our lives — our desires, plans, comforts, and struggles. Romans 12:1 reminds us to “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship.” As Andrew Murray said, “God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to Him.” Are we ready to fully surrender today, trusting that He will shape us according to His will?

As we enter into prayer, let us do so with expectation. God is here, and He is moving. Let us pray with open hearts, ready to receive what He wants to do in and through us today. Let us be sensitive to His Spirit and respond to His leading.

Prayer Of Consecration

Father, we come before You today as uncut stones, with all our imperfections and flaws, knowing that You desire our honest and unshaped selves. We consecrate ourselves, laying down our agendas, our plans, and even our understanding. We present ourselves to You as living sacrifices, trusting that You will refine us with Your fire and make us holy for Your purpose. As we gather in unity, may Your presence dwell among us. Lead us into deeper worship, greater surrender, and fuller consecration. May this altar we build be a place of encounter with You. Come, Holy Spirit. Move, Holy Spirit. Have Your way in us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.