Many, if not all, of us recognize our need of revival. But how do we personally receive it? We will cover the foundation of it here: morning and evening worship. The other parts of the personal revival plan we will cover after this are the life of prayer (unceasing prayer throughout the day), memorizing Scripture, and fasting combined with more prayer.
Many people for morning and evening worship have a mechanical experience of shallow prayer and mainly reading. But this is not what we are referring to for true morning and evening worship. Though we do provide a general reading plan here, the emphasis is really on worship, which we do through different forms of prayer.
The Origin of Morning and Evening Worship
To find the origin of morning and evening worship we must go to the Torah (Law), or Pentateuch, beginning with Genesis.
The Family Altar
We must first establish the biblical model for what we call the “family altar”. Now, the family altar might have a physical aspect to it; it might have an altar table with a family Bible sitting on it. We have such a thing set up in a portion of a room that we dedicated to God for worship. We highly recommend having a sacred place that you worship at in the house as a family if at all possible, but it is also a real blessing to have special places that you meet with God out in nature individually, as the Son of God practiced. Weather and pests do not always permit, which is often the case here in Minnesota, so that is why I often have my personal devotions at the family altar as well.
So, let us explore this concept of the family altar in the Bible. Let us go to Genesis 12, where we see the family altar set up by Abraham in verses 7 to 8. Abraham is going into the typical promised land and he sets up an altar; here it is:
And Jehovah appeared unto Abram, and said, “Unto thy seed will I give this land”: and there he built an altar unto Jehovah, who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence unto a mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, having Bethel on the west, and Hai on the east: and there he built an altar unto Jehovah, and called upon the Name of Jehovah.
Our Pattern
Abraham’s family is the archetype of all the families of Israel. When they went into the Promised Land, this altar was set up. And when they neglected this altar, the whole nation suffered. But when they restored it, the nation prospered. So, that is a lesson to us. When we neglect the family altar, God may permit calamities to come upon us. His intention in His judgments is to bring people back to Him, back to life, through His Word.
The Family Unit
Let us now go to Genesis 18:19. We have established the family altar and now let us study the family unit.
For I know him [Abraham], that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of Jehovah, to do justice and judgment; that Jehovah may bring upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.
So, the household is the family unit and is established here in the Law. It can only be commanded unto justice and judgment by God’s Word. The man of the household is the priest of the home and he instructs his family in the way of Jehovah according to His Word. He also consecrates the family to God through their collective worship, whereby they may receive the blessings of God and be protected from curses of calamities and worldliness.
This is the foundation of the intricate Levitical sanctuary system that was later implemented for corporate Israel, being based on the Abrahamic family unit with its family altar. To Abraham was the everlasting covenant promised; thus, the organized system of the Law that came later is founded on it and not against it.
The Sacrificial System
So, let’s talk briefly about the sacrificial system. The priesthood that performed the sacrifices, particularly the High Priest, was representative of the whole nation of Israel. It was a representative system. The economy then was the earthly sanctuary; now we have the economy of the heavenly sanctuary. We have lessons to learn with duties enjoined upon us from this system in the Law. The priesthood represented all of the people that worshiped at the appointed times for worship, including the mornings and evenings, for they could not all go to the temple each day or even each Sabbath.
But the priesthood did not represent all of Israel so that they would not have to worship morning and evening; they only represented what they were all doing—worshiping God. So, the altar in the sanctuary represented the altars of all the households of Israel. They all faced towards Jerusalem when they prayed at these times. The Spirit of Prophecy describes this further and explains how it applies today:
As the priests morning and evening entered the holy place at the time of incense, the daily sacrifice was ready to be offered upon the altar in the court without. This was a time of intense interest to the worshipers who assembled at the tabernacle. Before entering into the presence of God through the ministration of the priest, they were to engage in earnest searching of heart and confession of sin. They united in silent prayer, with their faces toward the holy place. Thus their petitions ascended with the cloud of incense, while faith laid hold upon the merits of the promised Saviour prefigured by the atoning sacrifice.
The hours appointed for the morning and the evening sacrifice were regarded as sacred, and they came to be observed as the set time for worship throughout the Jewish nation. And when in later times the Jews were scattered as captives in distant lands, they still at the appointed hour turned their faces toward Jerusalem and offered up their petitions to the God of Israel. In this custom Christians have an example for morning and evening prayer. While God condemns a mere round of ceremonies, without the spirit of worship, He looks with great pleasure upon those who love Him, bowing morning and evening to seek pardon for sins committed and to present their requests for needed blessings.
— E.G. White, Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 353
This comes from the chapter entitled “The Tabernacle and Its Services,” which I recommend reading.
The daily/continual sanctuary system passed away, and the reality of spiritual sacrifices has come; but the same worship times remain—morning and evening for individuals and families, and Sabbaths, New Moons, and holy days when the body of the Messiah comes together for assembly (Col. 2:16).
Private prayer, family prayer, prayer in public gatherings for the worship of God—all are essential.
— E.G. White, 7 Testimonies, p. 239
In this study we are focusing on morning and evening worship. The other worship times will be covered in the upcoming books Seventh Month Revival and Discovering Mysteries of the Lost Calendar, with the latter also providing more information on when “morning” and “evening” are based on the Scriptures, as well as information on the other apostolic prayer times, such as sixth and ninth hour and when they are. In Numbers 28 and 29, morning and evening are the foundation of all other worship times, coming before them:
And thou shalt say unto them, This is the offering made by fire which ye shall offer unto Jehovah; two lambs of the first year without spot day by day, for a continual burnt offering. The one lamb shalt thou offer in the morning, and the other lamb shalt thou offer at even.
— Numbers 28:3-4
Great innovation, be blessed
Thank you, but we did not innovate it. GOD designed it; we just found a few SOP quotes indicating what we should read every day and put them into a simple plan.
I will and am struggling with devotionals, I talk to the lord every day but feel like I am lost, not knowing what to ask or say to him .
Gary, I can relate to what you said about not knowing what to say to God. I’ve experienced the same. First of all, we are told in the Bible to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, so don’t let yourself believe that you are lost…you are simply a work in progress. Now, here is something for you to consider: How is your life in other areas? Are you seeking to bring your entire life into submission to God’s will? The Bible tells us that it is our sins that separate us from God. We need to examine every area of our lives to ensure that we are not committing any sin that will stunt our spiritual growth. Do you smoke? Quit. Do you drink stimulants like coffee, tea? Quit. These may seem small and unimportant, but they affect the thinking and behavior to a degree that may surprise you. Ultimately they will hinder your walk with God. But with every sin that we give up we come closer to God and are better able to discern spiritual things. You don’t know what to ask Him? Ask Him for strength to quit whatever habits are coming between you and Him. That is submission: to be willing to give up our darling sins for He who did so much for us.
Thanks for commenting, Dad. Sorry it took me a while to respond. Devotions are a struggle for all of us at times. I still struggle with it myself. ML had some good advice, and I’d like to add a couple more suggestions:
1. Praise God. Praise Him for anything and everything you can think of, including the “bad” things, because the Bible says that God can use anything, even the bad things, for our good. So, even when bad things happen, we can thank and praise Him because we know He can and will use those things for our benefit (or, at least, to benefit others through us).
Praising and thanking God, especially when things are hard, gives Him glory. This is a key part of worshiping God, plus we learn to love and trust Him more because we learn to see His goodness and mercy in everything. The Bible tells us to do this in Philippians 4:6. Here’s what it says in the Easy-to-Read version:
“Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have.”
2. Ask Him to bring to your mind what you should be praying about. He can and will put thoughts in your mind. You might suddenly remember a person you can pray for, or a problem in your life that you need His help with, or a sin you need to confess and ask forgiveness for. That last one is especially important. Here is what the Bible says about sin we don’t confess, again in the Easy to Read Version:
“I cried out to him for help, and I praised him. If I had been hiding sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened to me.” (Psalm 66:17)
… And it just so happens that this verse talks about praising God, too. How about that. 🙂
3. This one is more challenging, given the condition of your hands, but try it. It’s connected with suggestion #1. Every time you think of something good that has happened, or a good thing in your life, or even just bad things that are NOT happening, write it down! In other words, keep a gratitude journal. Not a full-fledged journal with long descriptions—just bullet point lists of things you’re grateful for. It could be something as simple as thanking him when you wake up that you are still alive. You could have died in your sleep, you know? So, thank Him for the gift of life. It could also be as mundane as the fact that you have running hot water. I know you have a very good idea of what a blessing that is, especially in winter. All you have to write down is “I’m alive” and “hot water” – nothing fancy.
I especially recommend listing off as many as you can think of first thing in the morning, so you can start with a grateful heart, seeing just how many gifts God has given you. But by all means, add more as you think of them throughout the day, or in the evening before you go to bed. You could make it part of your morning and evening devotions. All you’d need to do is get a cheap Dollar Store or Walmart notebook, preferably hardcover (easier to write in).
And if you just can’t think of anything at all to praise or thank God for … try reading one of the many psalms of praise.
Thank you so much Brother Ricky and Sister Amanda. Am so glad that after visiting this plan, I have seen my personal weakness although my wife and I have been struggling to direct our children in the way of the Lord as far as morning and evening devotion is concerned.
I thank God for drawing my attention to what you guys are doing. Am praying now for a breakthrough and a reformation of true revival.
Pray for our little company of believers here in Kenya.
HalleluJAH! Thank you so much for your encouragement, brother. We will certainly be praying for you!
Ricky, Thank you for these podcasts. Is there a follow-up one to this one about The Remnant for the Remnant, as it seems to end abruptly right in the middle of a thought/sentence. Maybe there’s more?
There is no follow-up and it was not mid-sentence. Thanks for listening.