Importance of Building Family Prayer Altar

Prayer is to a Christian what water is to the fish. We simply cannot survive without it because that is when we draw nourishment and strength from the Vine, the Lord Jesus Christ. The foremost protestant reformer, Martin Luther argued that “To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without air.” On his part, Edwin Harvey, a Methodist minister and leader of the holiness movement in his time, declared, “A day without prayer is day without blessing, and a life without prayer is a life without power.” 

Both quotes are from the website, blazingcenter.com. Therefore, prayer is not an option for any disciple of Jesus Christ. In fact, one spiritual song says, “Prayer is the master key, prayer is the master key, Jesus started with prayer and ended with prayer, prayer is the master key.” If the Son of God who has the fullness of the Spirit of God (Isaiah 11:1) needed prayer for His life and ministry while on earth, how much more we that still battle with the flesh?

Today’s discourse is however not primarily about the concept of prayer itself. We know it is important. We also know that we must have our personal prayer spaces or closets where we can commune with our Father without interruptions from the world and family. Besides our personal devotion, there is a compelling need for families to build prayer altars.

According to saltwire.com, family altars are key to spiritual development. It asserts that such altars and what we do there, have the power to shape and alter destinies of families. In simple terms, a family altar is a space set aside by a group of people living in the same house to pray for their collective needs and for those of other people, including nations.

Furthermore, saltwire.com explains that the family altar is a powerful place to prophesy over the children and other members of the household and release them into their prophetic destinies. It warned that without an active family altar, the enemy would make inroads into our families to cause dissension, as well as unleash spirits of sexual perversion and other addictions on vulnerable persons. The group suggested the following steps:

1. Dedicate a particular room or spot in the home as prayer altar;
2. Involve everyone in the house in the prayer meetings;
3. One person can lead the worship, while everyone can participate in the reading of Scriptures;
4. The wife and husband can take turns to share the word;
5. Everyone, including children should be encouraged to share their encounters/experiences with God, including dreams and visions;
6. Share the Holy Communion regularly;
7. Let everyone participate in washing of feet as commanded by Christ (John 13:2-17); and
8. Parents should model Christ with their lives.