About three years ago, I went to a praise meeting, and while we prayed, the Lord told me, through a lady, to make an altar in my house. The message was so strong and clear that I had no other alternative but to obey Him. I made the altar. It consists of a small table, and on it I put my Bible. The thing is I adorned it with a picture of the Lord Jesus, some holy water, and a couple of angels. I pray at least twice a day, but when I pray I bow. I do not bow to the picture but because I feel the Lord?s presence when I pray. Am I making a mistake?
Exodus 20:4 says, “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below.”
If you only had the picture or the angels, it wouldn’t matter because this commandment was given in the context of worship. But when you bow down to pray, you’re worshiping.
In light of this, do you think the Lord would have you make an altar with images of things in heaven? Also, when receiving a word from someone who claims to be speaking for the Lord you should always seek independent confirmation. That means you should wait until someone who doesn’t know what the first person told you says the same thing. This is the testimony of two witnesses of which the Lord spoke in John 8:17.
Until you get this kind of confirmation I think you should dismantle the altar. You will feel the presence of the Lord when you pray even if you don’t have these things around you.