This evening, something holy happened in the house of God. We gathered to pray, to seek, to wait. The room was quiet—still. And then the pastor knelt low and did what few leaders dare to do. He placed his church on the altar. “Lord,” he said, “if this is not of You, then take it away. If it’s not Your will, we will go to the streets. We just want You.” In that moment, the air shifted. Something unseen trembled. And the Holy One leaned near.
This is what purifying the altar looks like.
It’s not about cleaning up the mess of our outer lives or trimming the excess. It’s about laying down the very thing we love the most. The dream. The ministry. The success. Even the things we believe God gave us. It’s Abraham lifting Isaac. It’s the widow pouring out the last of her oil. It’s the Church saying, “Not my will, but Yours be done.”
God is looking for purified altars—because only purified altars can bear His fire.
How many of us are willing to do what that pastor did? Can you picture it? He held nothing back. Not the building. Not the congregation. Not the programs, the plans, or the progress. He placed it all on the altar and said, “If this is not Your will, burn it up. Let the wind blow it away.” That is not resignation. That is pure worship.
Too often, we cling tightly to the very things that hinder the fire. We say we want God’s presence, but we insulate ourselves with preference. We say, “Come, Lord,” but we lock the door of our hearts to His refining. But fire does not fall where altars are cluttered. It descends where altars are empty—where the sacrifice is pure.
“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 that had been torn down” (1 Kings 18:30 AMP).
Before fire fell on Mount Carmel, Elijah repaired the altar. This was not a hasty act. It was prophetic. The altar had been neglected, and before revival could come, the place of sacrifice had to be rebuilt. Stone by stone. Tribe by tribe. Heart by heart. Only then did the fire fall.
This is the season of purification.
And God is calling His people to purify the altar of their hearts. To tear down the altars of convenience. To remove every idol of control, comfort, recognition, or tradition. We must come to the place where we say, “God, if my plans are not Your will, let them be consumed. If my dream is not from You, I do not want it. Take it all.”
It sounds simple, but it will cost everything. Because the altar is not just where we lay sin down. It’s where we lay everything down. The things we treasure. The things we thought we couldn’t live without. But oh, what beauty there is when God meets a surrendered heart.
“Who may ascend onto the hill of the Lord? And who may stand in His holy place? One who has clean hands and a pure heart…” (Psalm 24:3–4 NASB).
He is not calling us to build bigger altars but to build cleaner ones.
He is not asking for performance, but for purity. He doesn’t want us to offer Him what we’re ready to give. He wants us to offer what we’d rather keep. That is the aroma that draws down heaven. That is the fire-starter. That is what we saw last night: a pastor, a heart, a church—laid down in holy surrender.
And now the Lord is asking: Will you do the same?
Beloved, the fire you are waiting for will not fall until the altar is made ready. Let the Spirit search you. What are you clinging to? What dream? What routine? What ministry model or favorite comfort has become sacred to you? Lay it down. Say to the Lord, “If this is not of You, I do not want it.” Say it with tears if you must. Say it even while trembling. But say it in faith. Because what God takes, He replaces with glory. What He removes, He restores with more of Himself.
“I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship” (Romans 12:1 AMP).
You are the altar now. Not just your prayer time. Not just your gifts. You.
God is not after what you do. He is after who you are.
So let the altar be purified. Let the fire fall again. Let the Church cry out with one voice: “We will go to the streets if we must, but we will not go without You.” And when that cry is pure, when the altar is clean, we will see Him come in power. Not for show. Not for man’s applause. But for the glory of His Name.
Let the altars be purified.
Let the fire fall.
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Prayer
Father, we come before You and lay it all down. Every part of our heart. Every part of our ministry. Every part of our lives. Purify the altar of our hearts. Remove every idol. Burn away every selfish ambition. If something is not of You, take it away. We do not want to carry what You have not ordained. Let the fire fall on a surrendered Church. Let the holy pressure of Your presence rest upon us. Cleanse us. Consume us. And prepare us to carry Your glory. In Yeshua’s name we pray, amen.
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