BUILD TRENCHES AROUND YOUR ALTAR
When we were kids, we had quite some poultry farmers around us. One of the things I noticed that they did was that they protected their cages. How they did it was simple but effective.
They would never place the base of the cage on the bare floor. They would place it in a tin filled with oil or water. This was to protect the cage from the invasion of soldier ants that were harmful to the chicken.
One of the things Elijah did on Mount Carmel after repairing the altar was to dig trenches and fill them with water.
“and with the stones, he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed.”
1 Kings 18:32 KJV
I was meditating about this fact when I noticed that trenches were used in warfare and enemies also dig trenches around cities as a way to capture the city.
It means that if you don’t dig trenches around your altar, the enemy will do it for you to capture your altar.
For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,”
Luke 19:43 KJV
When you notice that you cannot pray effectively as you should or you are becoming overwhelmed, you need to wake up and check whether the enemy is trying to capture your altar. When the enemy succeeds in digging trenches, the aftermath is not palatable.
“And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”
Luke 19:44 KJV
They ensure you lack the resources to build or rebuild an altar. What do you use? Stones. They will not leave you with stones at all.
They ensure prayerlessness becomes generational. Fathers do not pray. Mothers will not pray, and children will despise prayer.
The worst of it all is that they ensure spiritual sensitivity dies. Such men do not know the time of their visitation. Divine things will keep passing them by. Even things you have can slip off your hands. Why? You are sleeping in the Spirit.
Are you alert?
Are there enemy trenches around you? Are they keeping you from fellowship? Are they keeping you from communion? Do you still have the passion and fire you used to have or you are now drained? Do you know when God beckons, or you are too busy to notice?
temilOluwa Ola, Eruwa