“Taking The Land As We Institute Prayer Altars”
We saw the different things prayer altars can do prayer altars can bring presence, they are a place of refuge, place of provision and create open heavens. We also saw that on the prayer altar is where we can give the best to God. We also had a small glimpse of how powerful the prayer altar can be in a family. We said, let us offer our bodies as living sacrifices. The best you can give on the altar, as sacrifice pleasing to God is the selfish nature in you. That “I” in you. That is why we need to surrender everyday to God. Dying to self is a slow and long process.
We shall see how we can take the land as we put in and institute prayer. How can we take the land? How can we win the hearts of people back to God? We will see how we can pray and what that prayer can bring in the land. We looked briefly at what Elijah did in Israel.
I Kings 17:1
And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
This is Elijah a Tishbite, a prophet of God in Gilead, who came before Ahab. By this time the people of Israel had rejected God, erected altars to false gods all over Israel, and served a different god called Baal. However, Elijah sensing that there was a move of God in the land went into a time of seeking God; and God gave him a strategy and said, “go and tell Ahab that for 3½ years, there will be no rain as My word has spoken”. So the chapter begins with the above declaration.
As Israel drifted from God, He found a man who would stand in the gap. This man had fellowship and relationship with God. God told him to “go and stand for My kingdom and tell them there will be no rain” So he went to Ahab and told him. Then God told him “go to brook Cherith and reside there for I will feed you from there”.
V3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan” What was Elijah doing at the brook? He was not just sitting there; he was interceding and crying to God on behalf of Israel day and night. He was in the jungle crying to God. He had a burden for this nation. That is why we find that God could share His secret with this man. Telling him of what He would bring in Israel. So Elijah stood in the gap on behalf of the land. We can say that he was taking a partial fast because he only took breakfast and supper. The ravens brought him bread and meat and he went on interceding. But also, the situation in the land came his way. The brook dried up and he had no water. The bible says V8-9 Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, 9 “Arise and go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”
Brothers and sisters, there is something to learn here. God may have talked to you one time, but as you walk into the spiritual journey there are times you have to wait on God and get a new direction for your life. Many people walk out of their callings, because at one time they heard God, but they don’t keep that relationship and fellowship. This shows that, as Elijah came into a crisis, when there was no water and no more meat and bread, he had to depend on his fellowship and relationship with God. Today many are in church and in ministry but when the crisis happens to come their way, many run here and there not knowing what to do because at one time they heard from God, and think that they can only walk on that stream of the word of God. But as you find in the physical that, when you walk it is not a straight way; there are some crooked paths, hills and valleys, so also it happens in the spiritual journey. You have to keep the fellowship with God if you have to stand for the land. God told him, “Now the direction is changed. Don’t stay at the brook. It is time to go to Sidon. I have ordered a widow to feed you.”
You need to hear from God. Do you know that the Sidonians were not an offspring of Israel? God had refused the Israelites interaction with them; but here is a prophet of God and he is told, “Go to Sidon, the gentiles, even to a widow, and spend time there until the famine ended.” How inappropriate! You need to understand God, and keep your fellowship. Some things God asks us to do won’t come into the human understanding; but you need to know and obey. Elijah went.
God took Elijah to Sidon to make a spiritual mapping. When you go back and read about Baal you find that it is Jezebel who brought this god. And Jezebel was the daughter of the king of Sidon. If Elijah was to engage in spiritual warfare with this demon god, he needed to know about this god. What was behind the sacrifices? What does this name baal mean? Where does it originate from, so that he may know the root cause why it is so powerful as to rule over the nation of Israel? So God sent Elijah to Sidon where baal was the god of the Sidonians.
What was he doing? He was repenting and interceding for Israel and contending with spiritual powers and doing spiritual mapping, and going to details of this god. After 3 ½ years, the word of God came to Elijah and said “go back and show yourself to Ahab. In 1 King 181
And it came to pass, after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” After 3 ½ years an answer to his prayer came. It said, “You have overcome. Go back and show yourself to Ahab”. But this was spiritual warfare and contention between Baal and the living God. Elijah had to intercede and engage in spiritual warfare for 3 ½ years, until he got a breakthrough he did not come out of the closet until he got breakthrough in the spirit. Whatever manifestation you seek in the physical; it depicts the victory which has been reached in the spirit. Until you first get victory in the spiritual, you cannot see any manifestation in the physical. In the physical, there was nothing to be seen, but in the spiritual Elijah had overcome the prince called Baal. And God said, “yes, I am satisfied because of Israel’s sin, I had closed heaven”.
In 2 Chronicles 7:13
13”When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or commanded the locust to devour the land, or send spestilence among My people, 14 If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Elijah knew the word of God given to Solomon. He knew the scripture and he knew that God had closed the heaven; but he knew if God was to open up heaven, He depended on people who could pray. Then he came and stood in the gap and God told him “go back and show yourself to Ahab.”He sent Obadiah to call Ahab. When Ahab came V16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 17Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah that Ahab said to him “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” 18And he answered, “have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed Baal 19”Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table”.
Through the lessons I have told you there are 2 priesthoods. Here we see the two priesthoods meeting. Elijah for the kingdom of God, and Ahab standing for the satanic priesthood, though he was an offspring in Israel. Please note that whenever the devil wants to do something in the land, he looks for leaders, because there he can have authority. That is why Paul tells us in the 1 Timothy 21-2 to pray for leadership, to pray for those in authority. They carry something in the spiritual realm even if they are not saved. There is an authority where they can stand – a kingly authority. The devil had entered Ahab through Jezebel. Instead of standing for God he stood for Baal and gave the devil authority to work in Israel. God needed another man to stand in the gap for God’s kingdom. So here they meet and Ahab said, “You have come you troubler of Israel.” But Elijah said, “You are the troubler of Israel because you have offended the law of God and welcomed the Baal. Now I call for contention. So call all people and prophets. Even if I am alone, let them come.” And when they came V22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.
“I am the only one.” He was willing to stand in the gap. Whenever God wants to bring revival in the land, He allows a crisis. He allows a shaking in the land. In a short time that is coming, there is a shaking that will come upon this land. It needs you to start praying right now. Why? Through the shaking, it is as though God is waking up the land. Even the unsaved people, through the church, and He is bringing them at the crossroads where they need to make a decision for the course of their remaining lives. This is the time God is calling the church and the nations to come to our destiny but people are absorbed in many things. A shaking is like awakening people from their slumber. Before the crisis of the drought, God was in other words bringing Israel at the crossroads. He was anticipating bringing revival in the land so that the people would stop worshiping baal. But then it needed a man to stand in the gap. So Elijah knew the secret and he knew that “from here, there is going to be a revival. So from where God is calling us to that time of revival, there needs to be someone standing in the gap interceding for the nation.”
So Elijah prayed to God. “Lord bring a crisis. These people have turned their hearts from You.” The bible says it is Elijah who prayed that rain should not come, in James 516-18. It is Elijah who prayed for it so that the hearts of the people may come back to God. There was a preparing of the land for visitation of God. It needed someone willing to pray the price and Elijah prayed. By the time God told him “go back and show yourself to Ahab”, the time for revival had come. Elijah had overcome and got a breakthrough in the spirit. God wanted to show it in the physical. The people had come at the crossroads.
When people come at crossroads, God wants to redeem masses a time. But two things can happen if revival is coming. 1. If there are no people willing to pay the price, the people will come at crossroads but as they are not sustained with prayers, and there are no people praying to know the times and seasons of God; instead of coming to kingdom of God the people will be lost to the kingdom of the devil. If they came to the crossroad and the people don’t know it is time to go and preach, the devil will tend to bring a false gospel and lead many to darkness. Many nations have had these defining moments and ignored them 2. if it is the right time and people know their God and move in His timing (remember, the key to walk with God is timing) and they pray and at the right time, they are there; when the people come at the cross roads, already the good news is there, and many are redeemed. V20 So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came to all the people and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him, but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
These people had come to valley of decision; they were at crossroads. Remember, I told you earlier, this is the time God is bringing people into a valley of decision and there are two areas. The decision you make today will determine your destiny. These people have come at crossroads and have double mind or two opinions; and Elijah was saying, “How long will you stay at the crossroad? If it is God go with God, if it is Baal go with Baal”. That was time for revival. Whether they come into kingdom of God or whether they decide to go the wrong way. He was there and had prayed through. The Bible says “the people kept quiet” and he said, “Let us erect two sacrifices. You the people of Baal get your sacrifice and cry to Baal and I will get one animal, prepare it, and give to God. And the god who answers will fire will be God.”
The people agreed because the time for making decision has come. First Baal’s people prepared sacrifice. The Bible does not say they erected an altar. It means they were always giving sacrifice and tending their altar so it was in good order. They put their sacrifice and cried to Baal until evening. The bible says in V30 Then Elijah said to the people, “come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. ”This shows that the people were no longer giving sacrifice to the living God. That is why the altar of God was in ruins. Elijah knew, before the presence of God can come in the land, before he can contend with the power ruling the land, before he can give a sacrifice pleasing to God he needed first to repair the altar. That is why God is calling us to set up prayer altars. We will do nothing in ministry unless we do something in our prayer altar. Start prayer in your life or nothing will happen in the land.
You can know all strategies and formulas and know all ways of bringing revival but you can do nothing, unless you first repair the altar of the Lord. He said “if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves….! The personal altar has to be in the right state and position.
After repairing the altar, at V36 And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah, the prophet came near and said “Lord god of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. He said “God hear me. You have always been God of Israel. But I have done this for Your glory. Answer me Lord.” The bible says fire came from heaven and it burned the sacrifice. What does that show? It shows that the time Elijah spent interceding he had overcome the principality ruling over Israel, so there were open heavens, and it was easy for fire to come down, the presence of God to come and consume the sacrifice. The bible says in V39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” What Elijah did? He had brought the hearts of Israel back to God through intercession, purging the land, contending against principality of Baal over Israel. One man bought the whole nation back to God – Praise God! If one man could do it, we can do it. We are many. We can do that, if we are willing to pay the price. He bought back the hearts of men but he knew the time and seasons. When God is calling a nation, there is a time of calling and the time of visitation. But between the time of calling and visitation there is a time of preparation. So brothers and sisters, God is saying, I have a calling over your nation, but before I can visit, you need to prepare the land. Elijah brought revival in the land. First it happened in the spirit and now it started to show in the physical. Fire has come down showing there is open heaven. Then more, he said, “the priesthood of the devil has been overcome. Get the prophets of Baal. No man should escape. He took them to the brook and killed them, showing the victory that he had got in the spiritual. Then he said, “Go and tell Ahab, the rain is coming. There was deliverance, revival a purging of the land and God’s floodgates opened. There is nothing that can withhold the presence of God. There is nothing that can keep the heaven closed”. Why? Because one man paid the price. He did not go and rejoice. After Ahab went to eat and drink, Elijah went to intercession at Mount Carmel.
V42 So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43And said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up, looked, and said, ”There is nothing” And seven times he said, “Go again ”The Bible scholars say, from where Elijah camped to the top where the servant went to check whether there was a cloud is a 15-minute walk. It shows that in going and coming back, the servant was using 30 minutes, and these were seven sendings. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” Then imagine how long Elijah took to get break through!! See also, Elijah “bent down to the ground and put his head between his knees”. The bible shows us the posture in which Elijah came before God. This is the position which the women of Israel used to be in, when they are giving birth. So Elijah knew that something is to be birthed from the spiritual into the physical. So he was pushing something because the burden he had on behalf of the Israelites was a burden like pregnancy and he was pregnant of the revival that wanted to come on Israel. So he took the posture of Israeli women, travailed, and persisted each time telling the servant “go and see.” The servant would say “nothing” and he would say “go back,” and he kept praying three, four, five, six, still nothing; but on the seventh time, the servant came and said, “I have seen a small cloud the size of a man’s hand. Then Elijah said “yes. The birthing has come.”
Praying for revival for the land is not easy. It takes a persistent and insistent prayer. It takes a push. You know the meaning of that word (acronym)? It says pray until something happens. Prayer is not a week’s duration. It is not for a month, you have to push and push until something is birthed. It takes commitment and dedication before God.
Let me shock you with this, can you remember that it is God who told Elijah “I am bringing rain?” If it was God who says, “I am bringing rain”, why did it involve Elijah’s prayers? After all God is powerful. He could do exceeding, abundantly, above anything we imagine. Without you, God can do nothing in this land. And without Him, we can do nothing. So we need each other. He puts things in the spirit but it is man to bring to manifestation in the physical. He told Elijah “I am bringing rain” but it took Elijah to stand in the gap to pray a breakthrough. You never see purposes of God coming to completion in the land unless you are willing to stand in the gap. Whatever promise God has upon your life, whether that is a prophetic calling, and you have been prayed for and prophesied upon in your life; nothing will take effect unless we pray it through. Elijah needed that. That is why he needed to keep fellowship and relationship with God. He kept a pure heart so that when God talked, he heard. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice.” Why? Because they are ever in His presence, ever hearing His voice. We need to be always in the presence of God and move in His time and seasons. The bible says in James 516 the effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. He goes on to say in V17 Elijah was a man just like us, but he prayed that rain should not come for 3 ½ years and it did not rain. And after 3 ½ years he prayed and rain came. You can do that. You can pray rain of revival to come. It takes the people who are willing; so brothers and sisters if one man can buy a nation into revival, we can do exceedingly abundantly and above. That is what God is calling us to do. But we have to pray for our nation. We need to pray informed prayers. That is knowing what to pray for. That is what kind of prayer we have to pray. Know what you are praying for. That means you have spiritual mapping of the land to know “where is the name of my village/city coming from? You might find out it is a rock somewhere and there was sacrifices taking place there in the past. You need to know all the altars in the land. God does not want these altars to be in the land. That is why Elijah had to contend with them; so you need to pray informed prayers You need to pray united prayers. Unity is needed to pray for revival because with unity we have Corporate anointing. People coming from different ministry and churches, as we come together, we have new level of authority. From now we can contend with these powers. The fewer we are, the harder the area. The more we are the less the work. Had Elijah got some other people to help, it would not take all the years he took. Today, God is calling for unity. We need to be united with people as prayer partners so that we pray united prayers.
Also, you need to pray focused prayers. We need to have a focus not just praying anyhow. That is why we need prayer Captains. Today we are praying for our nation so that we know what direction to take Through this prayer we know what we have accomplished. We need to have people with objectives who say, “after such a time we shall accomplish this. Let us not beat about the bush it will not be effective”. Have unity for a purpose. Not just coming together and praying without a purpose. Many churches are united when a powerful preacher is coming and when he goes, the unity goes with him; we go back in our small zones and kingdoms. Can’t we learn that our power is in unity? Another prayer that brings revival is persistent prayer. Praying until something happens. Never give up. Never quit. You say, “Enough is enough. Lord I am willing to pay the price.” Victors never quit. We need to be people who are envisioned to victory so that you are willing to go all the way. As you start this kind of prayers, they are effected in the land, we are informed about the area, we do spiritual mapping and we take notebooks. Whatever you find write it down. See what manifestations of the kingdom of darkness are in your area. After that, get information, even go to newspapers. Go on radio, listen for news, have spiritual mapping on television, what is happening all over the nation. Then after you have that, unite, contend against the spirits with these focused prayers and pray until something happens. (Please note that there is a difference between spiritual mapping and witchhunting.) These prayers bring so much in the land. 1. They bring change in our places and communities and you find it is easy to bring unity in body of Christ. No formula and method can bring unity in the body of Christ except prayer. You can do anything, but if you start to pray people called to prayer will come up and join you
2. This kind of pray brings brokenness and purity in spirit. People are ready to genuinely repent because of presence of God. They feel conviction of sin in their lives and you find they are ready to breakdown and walk a holy life and cultivate themselves to be in union with God.
3. Through prayer we can unblock old wells of revivals. Go back and read history of your nation. Your nation has been used before by God. God has a purpose for your nation but you find that the wells were blocked and today if you can just pray, you find that these wells are being unblocked.
4. Prayer steers nations into their prophetic destiny. You find that a nation cannot come to its destiny unless you pray
5. With prayer comes the faith. Prayer steers the nation into the faith destiny and the calling upon it.
6. Through this prayer the spiritual eyes of people are open so that they can walk into their times and seasons. I want to tell you today, you are here today but tomorrow you won’t be here. You should know you have limited time and everything that will decide your destiny; you have to use it in this short time. I also say, you see these graves around they are holding men and women who have not fulfilled their callings. You are called for a time such as this. As you pray you can know the season and timing of God so that we invest on our lives.
7. Also when we pray it helps us to keep focused and we are not taken by distractions around us. Many are distracted by things that led them away from their purposes in God.
8. Prayer makes us pregnant to give birth to revival. Elijah birthed revival in the nation of Israel and brought the nation back to God. Through prayer we can contend with the demon powers ruling over our nation. The devil can endure a sermon but not the prayer of a righteous man.
9. Nations are healed. The bible says, “if my people who are called My name shall humble themselves and pray and leave their ways, I will forgive them and I will heal their land. God wants to heal the land through prayer. Praying for a nation is not quick work. It takes a dedicated heart. Put this in your heart, expect rejection, any name they will call you. That is the only price you can give to revival. Unless you are committed that they can call you any name, ‘false prophet, prophet of doom’ etc. Expect rejection because in revival you are contending in the spiritual battle with evil forces, and these forces were holding this nation for years. When you look at the situation in the physical, you will see as though the devil is getting the victory. It seems like it is just by an inch and he grabs the church; and in that situation God is saying, “please I need you to be victors, stand.” The devil will not go without a fight. So it needs for us to take real dedication. God is calling for prayer and work. So if we start to pray we enter into priesthood. You enter into a priestly intercession. I will talk about that next week. You are standing for the kingdom of God. And you find by that you are contending with evil forces. Understand that in priesthood, you are standing in the gap, and you are not allowing the devil to use it any more. So he tries to see that he fights you and gets out of the way. Some of you are going through crisis. There is some disease in your family, maybe your business as you started to raise your altar of prayer but I tell you don’t give up. That only shows you that you are standing in the position where you are effective in the kingdom of God and the devil is losing. It shows there is something you are touching in the enemy kingdom. The most dangerous place for a Christian is their comfort zone. But when you see the devil come and fighting you, know you are in the right position. Don’t be scared. So as you stand in the gap, endure hardship for it will come.
Another thing as you have to do as you come into this priesthood, blow the trumpet and share the vision. Alone, you cannot do it. If you try that, within few months we will not hear of you again. We find there is going to be a breakdown. The other demons will come in communication and attack; but if you pray and others are informed and have prayed, you find there is chaos in the kingdom of the devil. So quickly sell out the vision and tell others. Another thing, unite with visionary leaders. Have unity for a purpose, and join up with people with a burden for their nation.
Judges 6:23-24
Then the Lord said to him, Peace be with you, do not fear, you shall not die”. 24So Gideon built an altar there to the Lord, and called it ‘The Lord is Peace’ (Jehovah Shalom). To this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites We see Gideon erect an altar. God’s names come when they erect altars. This is where the name Jehovah Shalom comes from. The other time we saw Jehovah Jireh but after Gideon erected the altar, hear what God says to him V25-26 Now it came to pass the same night that the Lord said to him “take your father’s young bull, the second bull of seven years old, and tear down the altar of Baal that your father has, and cut down the wooden image that is bed\side it. 26And build an altar to the Lord your God on top of this rock in the proper arrangement, and take a second bull and offer a burnt sacrifice with the wood of the image which you shall cut down” To take land, identify the stronghold over that land. You cannot fight an enemy you don’t know. First spy the land and you will know the different levels of spiritual warfare, from where you can operate. Here, we see God say “you have erected for Me an altar that is nice, but you cannot erect it when the altars of Baal are around. First break them down and then erect proper altar to God”. Why? Because he is a jealous God and will not share His glory with others. Gideon did that. If we want to see change, we have to go to spiritual warfare. Today we don’t go with an axe to cut the idols shrines. We come against them in the spiritual realm then after that we have come against the strongholds, then go on building up prayer networks all over the land. You are created the land for God’s visitation. You are calling the presence of God to come down and God can work with you. We will pray asking God “Lord God help us to be effective in our land. Help us to identify the stronghold ruling over this land. Help us to get information You want us to get. Help us to unite with other people in different ministries with the same calling, help that our unity should be for a purpose. Help us to have focused people and give us the grace to never give up until we see something birthed in this land. Give us pregnancy for revival that we may travail and see something birthed in the land. Help us to take our position as royal priesthood and help us not to be selfish but willing to sell out this vision to others. Also, God, help us and unite us with those you have been preparing with this vision all through the years all over the country. Give us grace to endure, rejection, hardship, persecution etc. Raise up your hands and call upon the blood of Jesus that He may cover your life and your mind even He covers and seals the messages you are receiving. The devil tends to bring forgetfulness so that as we finish, you have forgotten the same message and go back to the same spirit. Call protection of God over your mind that “God reveal this to me more and more”, and the Holy Spirit to fill you with the knowledge of God as you seek God in His word. Whatever you have heard, let it come to reality let the devil never corrupt it. Let the Holy Spirit anoint the word. As we prayed a word came in my heart.
It is in Esther 4:14 I feel God is saying this to you – “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and delivery for your nation will arise from another place. But you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?”
If we keep silent and refuse to pray, God will maybe use another nation to pray for your nation, but you might perish. But He says “who knows that you might be coming to position for such a time as this? Many have died, the ones you grew up with but God let you live for such a time as this. Many have not got the grace to know Jesus as Lord and Savior, but who knows, you became a Christian for such a time as this? So be warned. Amen How do we carry out informed intercession? How can I start spiritual mapping without going into error? We mentioned “Priestly intercessors”. How many types of intercessors do we have? Praise the Lord!