Altars

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on July 23, 2013 at 3:09am

I love praying at the church altars. I have seen thru church visiting in Texas that no one goes to them except the elders to pray with you if you need prayer after the service. Personally, I don't go to them because I don't need them to help plus they have their Bible in their hands & their handbags over their shoulders like they ready to get the heck out of Dodge. Of course, that don't stop this girl from going up during praise & worship. I'm alone physically but not spiritually. As far as in your home, I think that would be a personal preference. If that's what you desire, go for it. I think it sounds neat. 

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Permalink Reply by Todd Robert Princl on July 23, 2013 at 8:04am

That sounds like a great church Michelle. We pray before, and at the end. I think the reason why there isn't much holding hands is because a lot of people feel uncomfortable with strangers. Even in the house of God there can be mistrust. I have no problem with it. In fact I would embrace that type of humanity in the church.

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Permalink Reply by Seek on July 24, 2013 at 7:09am

Our church has an open altar, with altar workers in the front row standing by.  We also have prayer before, during and after service, an altar call after service, prayer meetings where we just come to pray for an hour or so.  And many services, the pastor will have us take the hand of those next to us, and even reach to the hand behind us to form a prayer chain, all praying for those to the left and right of us.  We spread out across the aisles to hold hands.  Strangers just have to get over their shyness, cause someone is gonna take their hand.  LOL

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on July 24, 2013 at 6:01pm

Michelle, my home church in North Carolina was exactly like that. Many would also go up during the singing & even some at other times. We also had a prayer room where we would meet before the services to pray for the services. I miss that here. One day, I was at my weekly Bible Study with some ladies. The leader was talking about how sometimes, someone would go down & pray & they would have someone, say a friend go up with them & pray. She said I've never done it. I would be scared. My mouth feel to the floor. First, I said "sometimes?" And then only One?Now this church membership probably is around 1,000 or so. Then she said she never felt led to go up. I said "Really? If that was so, why do you feel you felt fear?" I was just so totally shocked that they had someone some of the time go to the altar. That just blew me out of the water. The one I'm attending now doesn't have anyone go up either or it hasn't the times I've been there. I don't understand it.

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Permalink Reply by Seek on July 25, 2013 at 5:58am

Yeah, we get people going up during singing.  Sometimes the pastor even asks that the whole church gathers at the altar and worships.  Some people stay up praying well after service has ended.  We also have a group that was going in early Sunday morning and going into each room of the church and praying over that room.  That was led by my friend Deb who's been battling a lot of illness lately so she's not been able to participate.  But she was our head altar worker and prayer team leader.  We also have cards in the pews and we make sure to give them out to anyone new, to ask if they have anything they want prayed about, and they can select if they want it to be for the pastor's eyes only, or for the prayer team to pray over, or to be shared with the congregation.

I'm not in complete agreement with everything about my church, but it's things like this why I ultimately love it.  The kid's ministry, the focus on being multi-generational, the overall atmosphere.  But they lean so much more towards believe and receive and almost Word of Faith style at times, and that's an area I cannot come to terms with in the teaching.  But the rest is just amazing.

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Permalink Reply by Grazer #E2H on July 23, 2013 at 9:34am

Whilst I have no need for an altar when I pray, I usually pray in front of one if one is there. The church I attend is in a community center so doesn't have one but we have prayer before during and after the service

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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on July 24, 2013 at 4:17pm

Mich,

It is CRAZY that we are living in times when this question is even ask: What do you think about the importance of praying in churches?

Praying in Church should be like breathing and living. They go hand in hand. We are the people of God. A people that love to talk to our Lord.

Do you believe the altars should stay in churches?  Why? 

Again - it sure is a sign of the times we are living in, that such a thing is now being asked. Altars and pulpits are being removed and we understand that Altars and pulpits do no make a church a church. We do, the people of God do, but there is a beauty to having both when possible. It's an expression of reverence to our Holy God and to the service of our Lord.

This is the Church where I currently fellowship. It is beautiful to have the cross, pulpit and altar:

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Permalink Reply by Tammy on July 24, 2013 at 6:05pm

Beautiful church David. I'd bust my fanny on that floor in my 6" heels tho. hehe

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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on July 25, 2013 at 4:17am

hahaha you so crazy sis Tammy.

Thanks for the smiles you always give us. :)

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Permalink Reply by Seek on July 25, 2013 at 5:50am

:-(  I miss my heels.  I gave them all away to Moore, OK when I thought I had Planters.  Turned out to be degenerative joint disease and bone spurs causing all my heel pain.  It's manageable but not cureable and therefore....bye bye wedges and pumps.  I gave away two of my best pairs of 4" wedges.  Me not a happy camper.

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Permalink Reply by David Velasquez on July 25, 2013 at 4:21am

Yes Mich, we are very blessed to be here. I love the place, but it's the people that gather in this place for corporate worship that are the main event, as you very well know. We are bless with a wonderful servant of God (Pastor) and a beautiful staff. 

Our place of worship should be an expressions of our reverence, love, fear, and wonder about the Almighty, beautiful, Gracious God we are blessed to have and enjoy.

To God be the Glory!

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