While most church people who hear the name Daniel think of a lions’ den, I think of prayer. What truly distinguished Daniel was his commitment to pray.

As a young man living in exile, Daniel knew the pressures of a pagan culture and government that opposed his faith. Yet nothing deterred Daniel from praying. Consider Daniel’s response after King Darius issued a decree outlawing prayer:

He went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees and prayed, giving thanks to his God, just as he had done before (Daniel 6:10).

Perhaps Daniel could have prayed quietly and privately with his window shut and no one would have noticed. However, Daniel was determined to seek God unashamedly, whatever the cost.

No wonder Daniel’s prayers moved heaven. Years later, as Daniel was fasting and seeking God, an angel came to him and said, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them” (Daniel 10:12).

The angel went on to explain that a heavenly war was taking place as a result of Daniel’s praying (10:13–14).

That’s the power of prayer. When God’s people diligently seek Him, things begin to change.

Desperate Prayer

It was with some reluctance I finally submitted to God’s call and took a job as a youth pastor. I had not planned to pursue ministry as a full-time occupation. In fact, I had dreams of going into business.

Despite growing up in a pastor’s home, I had no clue what it meant to be a pastor myself. I knew God was calling me, and I finally admitted it, but I wasn’t sure how to fulfill that call. I knew nothing about leading, preaching or managing a ministry schedule. And I didn’t know where to turn for help.

How, as a paid staff pastor, could I admit I didn’t know what I was doing? It was helpless fear that drove me to that small room at the far end of the church I served. There, hidden away from traffic, behind the choir room, I did the only thing I could think to do. I began to pray.

I was honest with God. I confessed to Him that I didn’t know what to do. I had seen enough professional ministry to realize I needed more than just talent or charisma. I needed God’s empowerment and guidance.

So, I cried out to God, “If You really called me to be a pastor, would You help me do it? Would You teach me?”

Nothing profound happened in that moment. The sky did not open. There was no voice from heaven or fresh outpouring of the Spirit. But looking back, I did receive something that has never left me: a hunger for prayer.

What started in desperation became a daily habit. I took everything to God in prayer, and things began to change. Young people responded. Miracles happened. Increasingly, I saw evidence that prayer works.

Many years have passed since I first uttered that desperate prayer as a young pastor. I have held a number of different ministry positions, but I have never lost my dependence on prayer. I remain convinced that praying is the most powerful and effective thing I can do.

The history of God’s people can be traced along the path of the altars they built.

A life of prayer takes a lifetime. Prayer is not a static practice or a task on my to-do list but a spiritual discipline in which I am continuing to grow.

To this day, I’m still learning and asking God to show me more. I want to pray with greater faith and see God change lives, starting with mine.

Prayer isn’t complicated. Mostly, it requires a commitment to show up. Nevertheless, it seems churchgoers who talk about prayer greatly outnumber those who actually pray.

I want to do more than just talk about praying. I want to seek the Lord and help others do the same.

What we need are altars — spaces in our lives and calendars for encountering God.

Building Altars

In Old Testament times, altars were often the places where people brought what they had and offered it to God as a sacrifice.

Fresh off the ark, Noah’s first impulse was building an altar (Genesis 8:20).

Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob built altars to mark the places they heard from God and memorialize the promises He made (Genesis 12:7–8; 13:18; 26:25; 33:20; 35:7).

Moses built an altar after a decisive victory against the Amalekites (Exodus 17:15).

Elijah built an altar on Mount Carmel, where he prayed, and fire fell (1 Kings 18:31–39).

Zerubbabel and other returning Jewish exiles prioritized rebuilding the temple’s altar (Ezra 3:1–6).

Jesus recognized the temple with its central altar was meant to be a house of prayer (Matthew 21:13).

Altars were constant reminders of the connection between heaven and earth. The history of God’s people can be traced along the path of the altars they built. Those altars demonstrated their commitment to knowing God and interacting with Him.

An altar exists because someone built it. It takes work and intentionality.

Looking back, I now recognize that as a young man kneeling in the back of that old church room, I was building an altar. I was constructing a place to which I would regularly return to sacrifice my will and receive from God.

In this sense, an altar is a place and time for meeting with God. We no longer offer animal sacrifices, of course. We may not install physical altars at all, but continually seeking God should be a priority in our churches and individual lives.

We must carve out space for prayer. We need to offer our time, emotions, finances and plans as a sacrifice.

As the apostle Paul wrote, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God — this is your true and proper worship” (Romans 12:1).

An altar of prayer may be a familiar pew or the back of a closet. It might even be a recliner in the basement (which is where you’ll find me praying most mornings).

What matters is having times and places for lingering in God’s presence. We all need regular reminders to kneel before the Lord, offer our lives, and pray.

Leading in Prayer

There is little chance of leading others in prayer if we aren’t willing to cultivate a personal discipline of prayer. After establishing a personal altar, however, it is a leader’s responsibility to disciple others in prayer.

We need churches that know how to pray. So much depends on it. We need pastors, emboldened in faith as a result of their own prayer lives, who can step forward and build powerful prayer ministries.

What would happen if we placed as much emphasis on personal and corporate prayer
as the New Testament Church did?

I believe with all my heart that God is stirring our nation. The Spirit is moving. Our way forward into all God has for us will be prayer.

Going to God in prayer is the starting point for change. Prayer is the place where heaven and earth meet, where we seek God’s will on earth as it is in heaven (Matthew 6:10).

Prayer is not just a church program or strategy. Rather, it is a way of life that should permeate our church culture.

There are six altars of prayer I believe every pastor and church should be intentional about building. These altars are key to creating an effective prayer ministry and a more prayerful church.

1. The personal altar. If you want to lead your church or family into prayer, the first and most important altar is your personal altar of prayer. You cannot lead others to pray if you are not willing to prioritize prayer in your own life.

Therefore, prayer ministry begins in the privacy of your prayer closet. You must develop a regular habit of returning to that altar, offering your life daily. This is where you die to your will and submit to God’s.

It’s within that secret place of prayer that God shapes your identity. He reveals who you are and strengthens the relationship you share.

If you are a pastor, your personal altar is the lid of your church’s vitality. If you are a parent, it’s the lid of your family’s spiritual health. You cannot lead what you will not live. A culture of prayer starts at your personal altar.

2. The home altar. Many churches lack prayer because congregants haven’t learned how to pray. They’ve seen others pray, but no one has taught them about prayer.

Jesus’ disciples specifically asked for teaching on this topic (Luke 11:1). The Lord responded by taking the time to pray with them and instruct them on prayer (verses 2–13).

It’s not enough to listen to someone else pray during worship gatherings. Believers should have opportunities to pray with others and learn to pray as a child learns from a parent.

We need families that value prayer and pray together outside of church as well. Raising a new generation that knows how to pray is essential.

If you’re going to establish a culture of prayer, you must teach and encourage families to pray. Family prayer times don’t have to be long, but they need to be a priority.

3. The community altar. The Book of Acts is filled with accounts of prayer meetings, from daily gatherings in the temple courts (2:46) to intercession at the home of Mark’s mother, Mary (12:12).

The Church started in an Upper Room prayer meeting (Acts 1:14) and continued in prayer. Peter was praying when the Lord directed him to take the gospel to a Gentile’s house (Acts 10). It was a prayer meeting that led to the sending of Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13:1–3).

What would happen if we placed as much emphasis on personal and corporate prayer as the New Testament Church did? Like the home altar, the church prayer meeting needs to be a priority — not just a service starter or an occasional event.

A church that regularly gathers to pray in agreement will grow in unity, righteousness, receptiveness to the Spirit, and supernatural power.

4. The core altar. While all Christians should live prayerfully, God often calls certain individuals to carry a heavier load of prayer.

Pastors have a responsibility to pray for their churches, but they shouldn’t have to do it alone. When God calls individuals to ministry, He also calls helpers to come alongside them.

There are people in your congregation God is calling to pray with you — and for you and the church. Identify those individuals, and equip them in this important area of ministry.

God wants to do miracles in our churches, but we
need to provide
space for inviting
people to receive
from God.

When you establish a core altar prayer group, you’ll discover not only greater strength and encouragement but also an intensification of prayer at your personal altar.

Just as Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands during the battle at Rephidim (Exodus 17:10–13), you need a team of believers supporting you through prayer.

5. The miracle altar. Signs and wonders accompanied the New Testament Church. Miracles demonstrate the power of God to a lost world and establish a platform for proclaiming the gospel.

As church leaders, we all want to see more miracles. When we don’t witness them, it is not because God is distant or unwilling. God desires to do the miraculous. But He often finds people unprepared or unwilling to ask.

Perhaps we don’t see more miracles because we don’t pray for them as often as we should. We don’t want to take the time, or we worry about what people will think if a miracle doesn’t happen. Yet the Bible encourages us to trust God for great things (Genesis 18:14; Matthew 17:20; John 14:12).

James 5 offers specific guidelines for praying for physical healing:

Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective (verses 14–16).

This text calls for church leaders to step up and pray, trusting God to respond. If we don’t seek God with boldness and faith in our gatherings, why should we be surprised when He doesn’t work miraculously among us?

God wants to do miracles in our churches, but we need to provide space for inviting people to receive from God.

James goes on to say, “Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops” (verses 17–18).

Elijah built an altar and asked for a miracle. So should we.

6. The salvation altar. All these altars support the proclamation of the gospel. They are steps to the salvation altar.

Each person who encounters Christ must decide whether to accept Him as Lord. We must be intentional about creating space in our worship services and small group meetings for people to experience the life transformation Jesus offers.

If we do not give people opportunities to come to Christ, they may never do so. We should pray for salvations and invite people to respond to Jesus during every service and event.

The mission of the Church is making disciples. We pray for the lost, seek God for miracles, and anticipate the Spirit’s work in and through individual lives.

People will come to Christ at altars we build for them. And as we teach them to create personal altars and join other believers at corporate altars, prayer will change the spiritual landscape of our communities.

Prayer matters. Calling out to God with a sincere heart changes things like nothing else can (2 Chronicles 7:14). Our churches need prayer. Our nation needs prayer. We all need prayer.

God is calling us to pray. He’s calling you and me to lead in prayer and build the altars.

Let us be like Daniel, unwilling to cease praying no matter what. When we are faithful in this task, our prayers will move heaven and push back the darkness of our day.

This article appears in the Summer 2023 issue of Influence magazine.