How to Get Fire on the Altar

Israel had fallen into dark times. An evil woman called Jezebel was ruling Israel as a proxy through her weak husband called Ahab. At such a time, God raised His prophet Elijah to turn back Israel to Him.

Elijah challenged the false prophets of Baal saying, “You call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” (1 Kings 18:24)

From morning to evening the false prophets of Baal called out to their God but there was no response – nothing.

Then Elijah called all the people near to him. So all the people came near to him and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. (1 Kings 18:30)

Even as the mighty prophet of the Lord, Elijah knew that if the Lord has to answer by fire, he needed to repair the altar of the Lord which was broken. Remember this: God’s fire will never come on a broken altar. The altar must be repaired before the fire can fall. Even the apostles tarried for nearly ten days before the fire could fall upon them from heaven.

There are many who write to me saying, “I prayed and nothing happened. Why did God not answer?” While I do not know all the reasons behind that but one thing I know, if the altar is broken the fire will not fall – there will be no answer from God.

There are things that hinder the altar of the Lord from being repaired. As long as you carry jealousy, bitterness and pride, the altar can never be repaired. Ask the Lord to deal with these secret issues of the heart. Fast and pray if you have to and ask the Lord to uproot these things from you. Then the fire will fall.

I have also seen people openly criticizing men and women of God, criticizing churches and other believers on social media without even a thought, all in the name of God. If you remember, before the fire could fall, Elijah called the people near him. A man or woman not walking in love will never be able to build a proper altar to the Lord. There will be no answer from God.

Because we have these promises, dear friends, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that can defile our body or spirit. And let us work toward complete holiness because we fear God. (2 Corinthians 7:1 NLT)

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…” (James 5:16-17), anything is possible when we repair the altar of the Lord through consecrating our lives fully to the Lord. Your life, your family, your ministry, every area of your life will never remain the same. The God who answers by fire will surely answer you.

How to Get Fire on the Altar

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