HAVE A TIME OF PRAYER

We had two dogs in our neighbourhood as young lads. One was Jack. The other was called Jill. They were our beloved pets. Jack had a unique habit. A few minutes to 4 pm, Jack would be at the door of our house. We noticed the pattern much later. 

Jack knew that my mum would exit the home about that hour to head to the “Upper Room.” That was what the daily prayer watch of our Baptist Church was called. He would run after the car all the way to church.  

Jack waited patiently till my mum was done and would follow the car all the way back home. If we do not see Jack in the neighbourhood at about that hour,  we know where Jack is. Jack went to the “upper room”. Jack was faithful till death. 

Beloved, do you have a trackable time of prayer? If you pray anytime you want, you are still playing. Prayerful men are men of patterns. They have a time of prayer. If you set a goal to pray, it is important to have time to pray. 

If you will train yourself to pray, it is essential to set a time for it. Can your friends and family say, “This is the time that Temi prays,” or are they not even sure you pray? As a child, I knew my mum did not joke with the 4 am and 4 pm prayer watches. It was sacrosanct for her. 

Beloved, the Apostles went to the temple at the time of prayer. 

Acts 3:1 KJV

Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. 

Elijah asked for fire on the altar at the time of the evening sacrifice: 

1 Kings 18:36-38 KJV

[36] And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. [37] Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. [38] Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 

Before the time of the evening sacrifice, what did he do? 

HE REPAIRED THE ALTAR THAT HAD BROKEN DOWN. 

1 Kings 18:30 KJV

And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. 

If you will maximise the hour of prayer, you must first clear all things that are hindrances to honouring that hour. Remove all the distractions. Plan around that timing. Repair your altar.

What do you need to put in place so your prayer altar can stand? What do you need to do so that your broken prayer time can be worthwhile again? What association do you have to say No to? What has to be rescheduled? 

If you will rebuild the altar, make it a priority. Build your life around the altar. If you know you want to pray at 4 am, do not stay awake pressing your phone till 2 am. Sleep earlier so you can honour that hour. 

Do you have a time of prayer?

Do you need to repair your altar?