Rebuilding Your Altar of Prayer: The Four Foundations

Introduction

Pastor Jacky Derand came to share a weekend of teaching on a theme he has carried for sixty years of walking with Jesus: rebuilding the altar of prayer. Married to Claudie for almost 48 years, father of four children including a pastor, he handed over the Argenteuil church to Pastor Sustène ten years ago to devote himself fully to what he calls the "two essentials" of his ministry: family and intercession. In this first part, he lays the foundations. Not prayer techniques, but a conviction that runs through everything: praying is not reciting, it's concretely living out the presence of God.

Message Outline

1. Rebuilding four altars, not just one

• The theme of the weekend isn't "how to pray better" but "rebuilding the altar of prayer." The word "rebuild" assumes there has been a collapse, in personal lives, in couples, in families, in churches.
• Jacky Derand identifies four altars that the Christian is called to rebuild, and none replaces the other:
  • Personal communion with God in the secret place.
  • Prayer as a couple. "The couple that prays together stays together", a line he repeats at every wedding he officiates.
  • Family prayer, that shared pursuit with the children when possible.
  • Corporate prayer with the church, those gatherings where God's people cry out together.
• The pastor is emphatic: it isn't the church that will teach you to pray. It isn't the big gatherings, the concerts, or the services. If you don't personally decide to let the Holy Spirit teach you, no one will do it for you.
• The pastor can preach on prayer every Sunday, and it still won't make you an intercessor. You yourself have to put your life at the Lord's service.

2. Three truths to settle before going further

• For a balanced teaching, Jacky Derand lays out three things before entering the heart of the weekend.
• God hears the prayer of the repentant sinner. Thankfully so, otherwise no one here would be saved. One important nuance, though: an unbeliever full of sin who cries out to Jesus is heard, but a Christian who keeps a hidden sin, an "off-limits" area in their life, shuts the heavens above them.
• God also hears "disjointed," formless prayer. You don't need a university degree to be listened to. A clumsy, awkwardly worded prayer rises to the throne of grace just the same.
• There is what could be called "maintenance prayer." Like a car serviced every year: you get up, you pray for the day, for work, and that's it. That's good, he says, but there's something far better.
• The goal of the weekend is precisely to move you toward a fourth reality: the way par excellence, the one that stirs up a greater thirst, a greater passion to go into the secret place.

3. Praying is concretely living out the presence of God

• The phrase keeps returning like a refrain. If you take away only one thing from this weekend, take this: praying is concretely living out the presence of God.
• This conviction changes everything. It turns prayer-as-chore ("I still have to pray, or something bad will happen to me") into a desired intimacy. That's why Jacky Derand often prefers to speak of "communion with the Holy Spirit," "face to face with God," "heart to heart with the Lord" rather than the word "prayer," which he finds loaded with religiosity.
• The secret place isn't somewhere you go to look for God. It's a place where God, already there, is waiting for you. "Your Father who is in secret will reward you" (Matthew 6:6). He has sat in the secret place all along. You're simply stepping into your own bubble, wherever that may be, to go meet him.
• In Scripture, prayer expresses our calling: "God is faithful, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). Not all Christians have the same gifts or the same ministries, but all share the same calling, fellowship with Jesus.
• A Christian doesn't say, "all that's left is to pray." A Christian says, "I'm going to start by praying." God isn't a spare wheel, he's the main road.

4. All kinds of prayer, led by the Spirit

• Paul writes to the Ephesians: "With all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). The word "prayer" is a generic word, much like "seat" covers an armchair, a chair, and a stool. The Spirit can lead you through several registers.
• Prayer of repentance and humbling. John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples: all of them opened their message with a call to repentance. Joel 2 describes it forcefully: after a description of disaster, a call to the priests, the children, and the whole people to repent, and only then does God pour out his Spirit on all flesh.
• Worship and praise. You come into God's presence not even knowing why, and the Spirit takes hold of you to worship.
• Praying in tongues. Another time, you find yourself praying for an hour, two hours, in tongues. 1 Corinthians 14 gives at least five reasons for it.
• Prayer through tears. You weep without knowing why, but the Spirit is groaning within you.
• Prayer of listening in silence. On a week-long retreat at a monastery each year, Jacky Derand once asked God, "What am I doing here?" The Spirit answered him: "I led you away alone to teach you the art of listening to silence." Moses stayed forty days on the mountain, but for the first seven days, God said nothing to him. He was training him in silence so he could later hear.
• Persevering prayer. Be careful not to confuse perseverance with unbelief. He recalls a fellow pastor who refused to pray twice for the same thing, convinced it would show a lack of faith, and who died of an illness without anyone continuing to intercede for him. Perseverance is not unbelief; it is obedience to the teaching of Scripture.
• Prophetic prayer of declaration. Provided that what you declare truly comes from God, and not merely from wishful thinking.
• Warfare prayer. Like Caleb: "Let's go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it" (Numbers 13:30).
• The principle stays the same: come into God's presence, then tell him, "Holy Spirit, take over. Where do you want to lead me today?" Don't try to reproduce yesterday's experience, what was wonderful yesterday can feel cold today, simply because that isn't how God wants to lead you on this particular day.

5. Answer the Spirit now, not in five minutes

• Jacky Derand describes a mistake he made for a long time. Busy vacuuming or washing the car, he would suddenly sense the Spirit inviting him to stop and pray. He would answer, "Lord, thank you, I'm coming, let me just finish this first." And by the time he arrived, there was nothing left.
• It isn't God's job to wait for us; it's our job to respond. When the Holy Spirit wants to spend a moment with you, it's right now, this instant. Five minutes can be enough, but five minutes within reach of eternity.
• He also shares a moment spent with a young friend who had just buried his wife, who died in childbirth. He was to stay with him the whole weekend. While driving the cousins home, the Spirit told him: "That couple hasn't been baptized in the Holy Spirit, I want to baptize them now." He answered inwardly, "Do you really think this is the moment, right after a funeral?" He obeyed anyway. The couple knelt down, the Spirit came down with power, both began speaking in tongues, and the grieving friend beside them was touched by the very same anointing. He no longer had the same face getting back into the car. God knew what he was doing, and when.

6. Cultivate inner silence in a noisy generation

• We live in the noisiest generation that has ever existed. At a restaurant, each spouse is on their phone. At home, the television stays on even during pastoral visits. Sometimes you have to ask, "Could we turn that off, please, so we can pray quietly?"
• It isn't only in silence that God speaks, but the more you get used to hearing him in silence, the more you'll be able to hear him in noise. It's a discipline that settles into your inner self.
• Jacky Derand recalls a recent youth camp where he asked 120 young people to scatter for half an hour each day, for a week, not two together, just one alone with God, among the trees, on a rooftop, wherever they chose. The testimonies that came back were remarkable.
• God's people need to be retaught this inner silence. What Buddhism and yoga have reclaimed is, in reality, a practice that God gave to his own people, one we no longer use.

7. The priority of priorities

• The whole armor of God (Ephesians 6) doesn't win the victory, it protects. The helmet, the breastplate, the belt, the shoes: you don't win a battle by hitting someone with a helmet. Only two weapons win the victory: the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and prayer.
• The pastor who manages to motivate, convince, and stir his church's passion for the presence of God has everything to gain. Because the Christian life is a spiritual battle, and the real scene unfolds in the heavenly places.
• After 60 years of walking with Jesus, Jacky Derand still feels the thirst: "Lord, you gave me a small glass of water, but I want the ocean." Communion with God still has room to grow, deepen, and be perfected, until we see his glory.

Key Takeaways

• There isn't just one altar of prayer to rebuild, but four: personal, marital, family, and corporate. None replaces the other.
• Praying isn't performing a ritual, it's concretely living out the presence of God. This single sentence can reorient your entire spiritual life.
• In the secret place, you're not the one seeking God out, he's the one who has been waiting there for you all along.
• The Spirit leads each time of communion differently: repentance, worship, tongues, silence, perseverance, declaration, warfare. Come, and let him direct the moment.
• Don't put off the inner invitation to pray. Five minutes now are worth more than an hour planned for "when I'm finished."
• Learn silence at home, and God will be able to speak to you even on the subway, the bus, or in a shopping mall.
• Perseverance in prayer is not unbelief, it is obedience to Scripture.
• In the armor of Ephesians 6, only two weapons win the victory: the word and prayer. Everything else protects you.

Personal Application

• Which of the four altars (personal, couple, family, church) is most collapsed in your life right now? Which one is God inviting you to start rebuilding?
• Honestly, are you at the stage of "maintenance prayer" that just manages the day, or are you already living the presence of God as a desired communion?
• Which expression of prayer (silence, tongues, tears, worship, warfare, repentance) draws you the least, and why? What if the Spirit wanted to lead you there this very week?
• Think back to the last time you sensed an inner invitation to stop and pray. Did you respond, or did you say, "I'll come in five minutes"?
• Where could you, this week, practice thirty minutes of listening to silence, like the 120 young people at that camp?

Verses Cited

• Matthew 6:5-8 · the secret place and the Father who knows what you need
• Ephesians 6:10-18 · the armor of God and "all prayer"
• Joel 2 · the call to repentance and the promise "afterward I will pour out my Spirit"
• 1 Corinthians 1:9 · "called into the fellowship of his Son"
• 2 Corinthians 13:13 · "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all"
• Psalm 139 · the God who searches and knows the word before it's on the tongue
• Psalm 144:1 · the one who trains my hands for war
• Deuteronomy 34:1-8 · the one who stands before God, God himself joins him
• 1 Corinthians 14 · the reasons for praying in other tongues
• Numbers 13:30 · Caleb's boldness, a picture of warfare prayer

Further reading

• Taking Notes During Your Bible Reading
• How to Prepare a Personal Bible Study
• Which Bible Translation Should You Choose?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why talk about "rebuilding" the altar of prayer instead of simply "praying more"?

Because the word "rebuild" assumes a collapse has already happened, in personal life, in couples, in families, in churches. Jacky Derand notes that today the prayer meeting is often the least attended, while worship nights or fellowship meals draw a crowd. Rebuilding isn't about adding another religious layer on top of an already busy life. It's about returning to the foundations and rediscovering what praying actually means: concretely living out the presence of God. When that conviction takes hold of a Christian, the frequency and depth of their prayer life stop being a forced discipline and become a desire.

How do I know whether I'm persevering in prayer or simply lacking faith?

Jacky Derand stresses this distinction because of a painful experience. A fellow pastor, convinced that praying twice for the same thing amounted to doubt, died of an illness because no one kept interceding for him. Perseverance is not unbelief, it is obedience to the teaching of Scripture. God sometimes asks us to start again, to keep fighting, to hold on over time. If you return to God with the same request, it isn't because you doubt he heard you the first time; it's because you recognize he is calling you to stand before him until the breakthrough comes.

What should I do when I "can't" recapture yesterday's prayer experience?

That's exactly the trap Jacky Derand describes. One day you experience a wonderful time of worship or praying in tongues, and the next day you want to "do it again", but it feels cold. "With all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit" (Ephesians 6:18). What matters isn't reproducing yesterday's expression; it's coming into God's presence and telling the Holy Spirit, "Where do you want to lead me today?" Maybe yesterday it was worship, today it will be silence, tomorrow tears or intercession. Stay sensitive to the direction of the moment, and let him take over.