Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. Elijah took twelve stones according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” So with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he made a trench around the altar, large enough to hold two measures of seed. (1 Kings 18:30-32)
At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. When all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.” Then Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal; do not let one of them escape.” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. (1 Kings 18:36-40)
Acknowledge the Need for the Repair of the Altar of the Lord
The first thing Elijah did was to repair the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. He was not presumptuous about anything. The Bible says Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord which had been torn down. He acknowledged that something vital was missing – the altar of the Lord had been broken and dilapidated. That is the truth many people have refused to face in their own life and ministry today. They prefer to think that they are spiritually fine. In what ways has the altar of the Lord been torn down in your own life and walk with God? Where is the sweet prayer time you used to have with God? What has happened to your family altar? When last did you and your spouse have time to pray and fast together? When last did you attend the weekly prayer meeting in your church? How has your perspectives about prayer changed over the years? When last did you spend time alone to intercede for the lost? Do your prayer altar need some repairs? Use these questions to check up on yourself, do you pass the test? I don’t! The first step to a revival in your personal prayer life is to acknowledge where the altar of the Lord has been torn down in your life and get ready to do something about it.
Commit to Building an Altar of Prayer
The second step is to get ready to do something about the broken altar, to commit yourself to the repairs and building of the altar of the Lord. The Bible says … so with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. What does that mean to us today? The stones represent our active membership of the Body of Christ, and that is a major requirement to being able to build an altar of prayer. A backslider cannot build an altar for the Lord without first repenting. There is a need to first repent of our sins of prayerlessness and take inventory of the things that have kept us from being effective and fervent in prayer. Bible says to Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (Romans 12:11-12). Nobody just find themselves in prayerlessness, it is a process that starts a decision after the other. There is a need to seek God for a fresh encounter in our lives, and prioritize God in our daily activities. Leave room for a time of personal fellowship with God on your calendar daily and guard that time from being taken over by other things. Carry God throughout your day by maintaining a heart of fellowship with God.
Make it all about God and His Glory
The third step to revival in our prayer life is to make God your focus in prayer. Let His Glory be your drive. Enter into His presence with praise and worship Him. Dwell on Who God is and What He does. The Bible says Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again. Make your prayer life an opportunity for God to manifest His Glory in your life. Talk to God with clear purpose, expressing your desire to see Him manifest only His own Glory in your life and ministry. Prayer becomes an experience with unsearchable depth when it is all about God.
Exercise Confidence in God’s Word
God honors His Word, and His Word He will not turn down. The fourth step to a vibrant and fruitful prayer life is to establish your prayer life in the Word of God. It is hard, if not impossible, to have a fruitful prayer life without the Word of God. The Bible is clear that Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Roman 10:17). Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. Elijah said to God, “I have done all these things at your Word”. That is a powerful key to unlocking access to God in prayer. We must learn to ride on the revelation that God has given us in His Word when we pray, because that is the secret of prayer. When our prayer life is built around the revelation of God’s Word, prayer works wonder. This means that an effective study of God’s Word is vital to having a fruitful prayer life.
Call on God by Faith without Wavering
When we pray, we must call on the Name of the Lord with Faith. No doubt. No fear. Our heart must be established by faith in His Word and Faithfulness. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that You, O Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back again. Focus on the answer and not your doubts. Having set your gaze on the Glory of the Lord and established your heart in the revelation of His Word, faith is alive. All you need to do is call forth on the Lord. When we pray, our heart, not our feelings, must be the most important thing. The Word of God in our heart will fill our mouth and the result will be nothing but a shout to God to manifest His Glory. And God has never failed when we call. He listens and responds. He said in His Word, It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. (Isaiah 65:24). And in Psalm 91:15, He said, When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver and honor him.
But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:6)
Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness, If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.(Isaiah 58:8-10)
