Build an Altar, Not a Platform
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Editor’s Note: This piece reflects a prophetic invitation to return to devotion, prayer, and intimacy with God rather than visibility and influence. It speaks to a Church being stripped back to presence, holiness, and obedience in preparation for what is coming.
There was a moment, long before Convergence, when the Lord spoke to me with unsettling clarity.
It was not a sermon.
It was not a vision.
It was not dramatic.
It was a phrase, repeated like a drumbeat in my spirit.
Build an altar.
Let the incense rise.
Let the incense rise.
Let the incense rise.
At the time, I did not fully understand it.
I only knew this.
It had nothing to do with visibility.
And everything to do with devotion.
Altars Are About Presence, Not Performance
At Convergence, the phrase returned.
Not from my own prayer life, but from the mouths of others.
Build an altar.
Create a space of worship and devotion.
Return to simplicity.
And suddenly I understood why the Lord had been so insistent.
An altar is not a stage.
An altar is not curated.
It is not branded.
It is not marketed.
An altar is where something is laid down.
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1
Platforms elevate people.
Altars host God.
And the Church has confused the two.
Why God Is Calling People Out of Platforms
Platforms require:
• Control
• Messaging
• Consistency
• Applause
Altars require:
• Surrender
• Obedience
• Holiness
• Fire
This is why so many gifted, sincere people feel restless.
They were not called to perform God.
They were called to meet Him.
“Holiness is about proximity to the King.”
That line pierced me.
Holiness is not moral posturing.
It is not spiritual branding.
It is not correctness.
It is closeness.
And closeness cannot be manufactured.
Incense Is What Rises When No One Is Watching
Incense in Scripture was never for the crowd.
It was for the Holy Place.
“Let my prayer be set before You like incense.”
Psalm 141:2
Incense rises quietly.
Faithfully.
Daily.
And it costs something.
This is why the Lord keeps pulling people into obscurity, simplicity, and devotion.
Incense cannot rise where everything is transactional.
You cannot sell intimacy.
You cannot market devotion.
You cannot charge admission for presence.
When intimacy is sold, Scripture calls it what it is.
Prostitution.
Harsh words.
But spoken plainly at Convergence.
And confirmed by the Spirit.
Why God Is Stripping Back the Church
Another sobering truth was spoken.
Christ’s metric of success was never numbers.
The early Church had:
• No buildings
• No branding
• No hierarchy
• No growth strategy
Yet it turned the world upside down.
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Acts 2:42
Devotion.
Community.
Presence.
Before influence came power.
Before power came prayer.
Before prayer came proximity.
God is restoring the order.
Sitting With Jesus on His Throne
One of the most arresting promises spoken was this.
“The promise is that you get to sit with Jesus on His throne.”
That is not metaphor.
“To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne.”
Revelation 3:21
Authority does not come from platforms.
It comes from being with Him.
Those who know His heart can represent His Kingdom.
Those who skip intimacy will always default to control.
Why This Matters Now
We are not entering another church growth phase.
We are entering a devotional reckoning.
God is not asking:
• Who can preach best?
• Who has the biggest reach?
• Who can gather the crowd?
He is asking:
• Who will build an altar?
• Who will keep the fire?
• Who will stay when no one is clapping?
Because from those places,
from living rooms, kitchens, quiet prayers, and hidden obedience,
the Kingdom will advance.
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true and proper worship.”
Romans 12:1
With fire and grace,
This message carries fire. Pass it on. 👇🏻
Victoria Player is the founder of Daughter of Thunder, a movement awakening spiritually sensitive women to truth, purpose, and divine power in a world that’s lost its compass. After walking through her own season of fire and rebuilding, she now writes and speaks to those who sense there’s more — guiding them from confusion to clarity, from awakening to assignment.
“I don’t bow to Babylon — I walk with the Lion.” — Daughter of Thunder
