Child of God,
Keep the alter of private prayer burning; this is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital and practical religion. Burn the fat of your sacrifices here. Let your times of prayer be, if possible, regular, frequent, and undisturbed. Earnest prayer avails much. Have you nothing to pray for? Let us suggest the church, the ministry, your own soul, your children, your relatives, your neighbors, your country, and the cause of God and truth throughout the world. Let us examine ourselves on this important matter. Do we engage with luke warmness in private devotion? Is the fire of devotion burning dimly in our hearts? Do the chariot heels drag heavily? If so, let us be alarmed at this sign of decline. Let us go with weeping and ask for the Spirit of grace and of supplications. Let us set apart special seasons for extraordinary prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the church and in the world.
The fire shall always be burning on the altar; it shall never go out.
Leviticus 6:13
Bishop Eric A. Burns