REbuilidng of altars of prayer 1. del

PROPHETIC PERSPECTIVE - AN OPEN HEAVEN FOR THE PRIMORSKA REGION

Introduction — About Altars

One of the key words in the Gospels that is often overlooked is “the time is fulfilled” and “the kingdom of God has drawn near.” The idea of drawing near means to enter proximity.

Proximity: A condition in which someone or something is spatially, temporally, or relationally directly beside; it is a presence that enables direct contact, influence, or interaction.

This is confirmed by the following Scripture verses:

“The time has been fulfilled and the kingdom of God has drawn near. Repent and believe in the gospel!”: (Mark 1:15 – NASB).

“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”: (Matthew 3:2 – NASB; also Matthew 4:17 – NASB).

“Heal the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’”: (Luke 10:9 – NASB).

Therefore, the kingdom of God has come into our proximity. How do we know that the kingdom of God has drawn near to us? In the Gospels it was evidenced by signs and miracles: the blind saw, the lame walked, the poor heard good news, and many evil spirits were forced to leave people. The dominion of darkness had to flee.

About Jesus, people could disagree on many things, but they had no doubt that His word was not like that of the Pharisees — His word carried authority. Words differ not merely by content, but by authority. Jesus used the same Scripture as the Pharisees; the difference was that the word from His mouth led people into the presence of God, into relationship with God, into the realm of God’s authority. Meanwhile, the words of the Pharisees merely conveyed information about God and His will; they never brought listeners into contact with God.

In many ways today we see this in churches as well. There are numerous seminars and teachings about the gifts of the Holy Spirit, healing, prophecy, evangelism, and more, yet most people who continuously attend these schools and seminars never enter the reality of what they have heard and seen. People may feel God’s presence, but they do not enter the power of God’s kingdom. The leaven of the Pharisees is at work.

Scripture says they “learn but never come to the knowledge of the truth.”How to hear and receive God’s word that actually equips us for the kingdom of God is something we give too little attention to.

One of the keys that will keep us in God’s glory, once it has been revealed to us, is that we must discard old patterns and human methods. Both cannot dwell together.

For the ancient patriarchs, such a place became a place of remembrance, consecration, and worship. Those altars were “heavenly portals,” marking sacred ground — like modern traffic signs pointing to a designated area — a place where God descends upon obedience, prayers, and offerings of His chosen. These altars did not contain any image; they were not an end in themselves and were not worshiped simply for being there. Worshiping images is idolatry and has nothing to do with the revelation of God. An altar, therefore, contains no external form: it simply signifies an “open heaven at a particular place.”

Thus, God revealed Himself to Jacob as he was fleeing from his brother Esau:

“Now Jacob went out from Beersheba and went toward Haran. And he came to a certain place and stayed there that night, because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones of the place, he put it at his head and lay down in that place. And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth with its top reaching to heaven; and behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. And behold, the LORD stood above it and said, ‘I am the LORD, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give to you and to your descendants.’ … And Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Truly the LORD is in this place, and I did not know it.’ And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven.’ Then Jacob rose early in the morning and took the stone that he had put at his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. He called the name of that place Bethel … And Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I am going, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear, so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the LORD shall be my God.’”: (Genesis 28:10–22 – NASB).

Later God commanded him to return to that place and build an altar:

“Then God said to Jacob, ‘Arise, go up to Bethel and live there; and make an altar there to God who appeared to you when you fled from the face of Esau your brother.’ Then Jacob said to his household and to all who were with him, ‘Put away the foreign gods that are among you, and purify yourselves and change your garments; and let us arise and go up to Bethel, and I will make there an altar to God who answered me in the day of my distress and was with me wherever I went.’ So they gave to Jacob all the foreign gods that they had and the rings that were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak that was near Shechem. Then they arose and went up to Bethel; and the terror of God was on the cities all around them, so that they did not pursue the sons of Jacob. And Jacob came to Luz (that is, Bethel), which is in the land of Canaan, he and all the people who were with him. He built an altar there and called the place El‑Bethel, because it was there that God revealed Himself to him when he fled from the face of his brother.”: (Genesis 35:1–7 – NASB).

Similarly, Abraham built an altar where the Lord appeared to him:

“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. Then he moved from there to the mountain on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD.”: (Genesis 12:7–8 – NASB).

Also Noah, after God’s deliverance, built an altar to the Lord:

“Then Noah built an altar to the LORD; and taking of every clean animal and of every clean bird, he offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the LORD smelled the soothing aroma. And the LORD said in His heart, ‘Never again will I curse the ground any more for the sake of man…’ While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.”: (Genesis 8:20–22 – NASB).

When the Lord revealed Himself to Gideon, he also built an altar:

“Then Gideon perceived that it was an angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, ‘Alas, O LORD God! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.’ But the LORD said to him, ‘Peace be to you, do not fear; you shall not die.’ So Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it The LORD Is Peace; to this day it is still in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.”: (Judges 6:22–24 – NASB).

If the Lord has revealed Himself to us at a particular place, we must build an “altar” there.

Of course we will not place stones at such places as the ancient patriarchs did — that is spoken only as a metaphor for us.

It is about our hearts.

“I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.”: (Romans 12:1 – NASB).

We build Him a “spiritual altar” in metaphor when we consciously set apart the place of our encounter with Him as a holy and special location: a place of remembrance of God’s work, a place of consecration and prayer, where we return again and again to Him, and where God’s revelation advances, not stagnates.

At the end of the Letter to the Hebrews there is mention of OUR altar, the altar of the New Covenant. All the other altars we mentioned were only a shadow, a metaphor, and a foreshadowing of the true one — the one no one can dismantle — but which God established through the sacrifice of His Son outside any religious structure, position or stage.

“We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.So let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. For here we do not have a continuing city, but we seek the one to come. Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. Do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”: (Hebrews 13:10–16 – NASB).

This passage shows that in the New Covenant the altar has already been built, but it becomes functional when we truly recognize the high‑priestly sacrifice and ministry of Jesus, and upon that we build our altars — because we ourselves are living stones, and our hearts, our worship, is our life — faith, good works, prayer and praise to God.

Prepare for God’s Visitation in the Primorska Region

It begins with revelation.

At the beginning of 2024 we were engaged in intercessory prayer with a group of brothers and sisters from various Christian churches at my home in Ljubljana, praying for revival in our cities and churches. The Lord impressed upon our hearts the coastal cities and spoke of revival and God’s visitation that He is preparing for that region.

Therefore, I believe that a season of praise, sweet visitation, healing and joy is approaching. This is the nearness of GOD where heaven is not like iron and bronze, where God’s visitations are not rare, and God’s revelations do not fall only here and there.

Therefore I believe that this word must be spoken, even if it meets closed ears or mocking. Scripture indeed says that in the last days there will rise mockers who will ridicule the word concerning the coming of Jesus:

“Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’”: (2 Peter 3:3–4 – NASB).

I have found that the prophetic word is still often received with a measure of derision and cynicism because people do not distinguish between prophetic pronouncements, people’s wishes with a spiritual veneer, and authentic word that comes by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Still, we often cannot convince even some New Covenant leaders that the prophetic word in the New Testament is conditional and redemptive. If you do not receive it, it does not come to pass; and even if it does, the Lord will not give you “to see” or experience the fruits because you have no share in what was spoken.

In the Book of Hebrews we find that the Israelites in the wilderness did not benefit from the promise of rest and entering the Promised Land because the hearing of the word was not combined with faith in those who heard it:

“For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.”: (Hebrews 4:2 – NASB).

The prophetic word is subordinate to faith and does not lord over it. If we struggle to accept all that is written in God’s Word, we will have even greater difficulty accepting prophetic words, regardless of who spoke them. Jesus said this very clearly in one of His parables:

“But He said to him, *‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead.’”: (Luke 16:31 – NASB).

Here I refer to teachings of some who do not believe that God still speaks and works wonders — the so‑called cessationists. I truly do not recommend they read further, for nothing in this will benefit them; rather it will be to their stumbling, and that is not our intention.

Angels and Scripture

I recall a time when I once shared a word about the event in the pool of Bethesda where an angel would occasionally come into the pool and people were healed. Later a brother highly versed in Scripture and trained in ecclesiastical teachings came to me and kindly reminded me that the citation should not be present in some manuscripts and that he personally does not believe in angelic appearances.

At first I stared dumbfounded and was about to give a hundred other Scripture passages about angelic visits and their roles in the New and Old Testaments — but I was stopped by the thought that he probably already knows all of that.His intellectual side needed a citation to strengthen his doubt about supernatural manifestations. Therefore it made no sense to argue from the Word — if one word cannot convince someone and they relativize it, they will do that with all others because they have already decided before opening Scripture.

Scripture clearly testifies to the reality of angels who are sent to help people. For example, an angel announced to Mary the coming of Jesus:

“Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary.And coming in, he said to her, ‘Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you!’ … And the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus.”: (Luke 1:26–31 – NASB).

And at Jesus’ birth the angels announced to the shepherds:

“Then an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people: For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.’”: (Luke 2:9–11 – NASB).

And the apostle Peter was rescued from prison by the Lord’s angel:

“And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, ‘Get up quickly!’ And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, ‘Gird yourself and put on your sandals.’ And he did so. And the angel said to him, ‘Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.’”: (Acts 12:7–8 – NASB).

These examples show that the mention of angels in Scripture is not misunderstanding reality or some “magical” description, but actual beings with the highest measure of God’s delegated authority to carry out His will. If we dismiss God’s word simply because angelic mentions do not seem “real” to us, we deny what Scripture clearly describes.

Therefore we all quote Scripture as our authority, but we must understand that not everyone receives every word. Faith and openness of heart are key to understanding and receiving all that is from God. We do not seek angelic revelation for its own sake, but Jesus Christ — the one revelation that truly saves — and Him we love, not angels.

Vision and Prophetic Witness

But that event had one good consequence: it reminded me of God’s visitation that I experienced as a student when returning home to Koper from Ljubljana. I was born in Koper. The Holy Spirit reminded me of a vision of an angelshown many years ago, which I will describe at the end, and also a vision I once had with a friend when we spontaneously began to sing and praise God in Hrvatini.

Before us stretched the entire Koper Bay. At one point the sky seemed to open and I saw angelic hosts, chariots and riders, barely restraining the power of their horses, because they were waiting for the church to rise and move. The strength of these horses was tremendous.

I remembered the Scripture in James 5:16, which could be paraphrased: “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power.” God is coming with exceptional favor toward those who have prayed for this region for years. In the spirit, there was a sense of much prayer, much longing by brothers and sisters who prayed night and day, year after year, hidden in their rooms, that God be revealed in this place.

I believe that the Lord is not one who delayed answers to the prayers of Christians in this region, but rather that the church was not yet mature enough for the authority God wanted to reveal. And I believe that time of immaturity has ended. With new authority also comes revelation of heavenly protocols. I believe God wants not sheep on the pasture but servants in the king’s chambers. God wants to give His house wisdom.

In James we read:

“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where envy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”: (James 3:13–18 – NASB).

Here we find the reason God’s people did not have open eyes to the heavenly dimensions waiting to be manifested in this generation. If people perceive demonic things over regions, such things are there only because someone allowedthem there. Just as in this passage the apostle James teaches — the church lacks authority where there is no unity. Authority belongs to purity, peace, gentleness, openness to God and neighbor, but it is not in division, suspicion, or sowing seeds of doubt under the guise of revelation or caution. James was not speaking about people who do not know God. So where did he see this perverted wisdom? In the church.

For many years Koper was the place where I experienced the fiercest spiritual battles and attacks through people, as if someone did not want me to return. All those years I tried to return, but neither people’s hearts nor doors were ever open. I felt truly like a stranger (which also is part of the meaning of my name, Barbara), forgotten by God and people — until God told me that He would remove certain people who opposed His plan for these places. When that indeed happened exactly as He showed me, I was completely shaken. I had already learned that the Lord removes people by blessing them with something they think is a thousand times better than the original will of God, while not understanding that they are no longer part of His plan.

Just as Hagar mocked Sarah and did not obey God’s instruction to be subject to her, so in the same way, God sometimes removes people so that in their disobedience they still become obedient in another way. God will not risk holy seed being compromised, yet He will not sacrifice others. He does not remove Sarah for Hagar’s sake, nor Hagar for Sarah’s sake. Therefore I am not surprised when I see divisions. God, in His wisdom, knows how to bless people — like in a corporation when a shareholder who opposes the vision is given a large office and a high title that means nothing, so that they can do their business without interfering with the company’s progress.

How to Pray

“Then another angel, having a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. And a great quantity of incense was given to him, that he might add it to the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, ascended before God out of the angel’s hand. Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and threw it to the earth…”: (Revelation 8:3–5 – NASB).

Jesus said in the Gospels not to pray like the Gentiles, who think they will be heard for the multitude of their words. The Lord asks His people: Can you pray prayers that have substance, such that the incense from the heavenly altar will be added to them? Can you pray in such a way that fire from the heavenly altar falls again on the earth?

By that I mean especially the prayers we pray as the church, as the body represented on earth. Sometimes we do not know who we are in Jesus, and our prayers do not differ from those of those who do not know God.

Consider the example of the prophet Daniel: he studied the prophecy of the years of captivity spoken by Jeremiah. He discerned that the time was fulfilled — not because Jeremiah prophesied wrongly, but because of the unresponsiveness of God’s people. Daniel recognized the reasons for the captivity and went in faith, based on that revelation, into prayer before God, weeping and confessing the sins of his people. The lesson of this story is not that we must always repent for sins of our nation, except where God explicitly reveals that. In the Catholic liturgy every service begins with “I have sinned…” as if sin is the only thing that qualifies a person for relationship with God. No — sin separates us from God.Therefore Jesus said: “Pray like this: Our Father…”

I believe that God wants us to turn our eyes away from the sins of other people and instead look at what the heavenly Father has prepared, and pray that — in faith — what He has shown us, and not what He has not shown us.

If we approach prayer without God’s vision, we often end up the way many do today: they prepare for prayer by browsing Wikipedia or other sources for what went wrong, assume that this is the cause for lack of revival or visitation, and then list long lists of sins of the nation or city before God. That is supposed to be “advanced prayer tactics” — to come to prayer armed with natural knowledge, called “spiritual mapping.” This teaching remains popular in churches under the impressive name advanced strategic prayer. It is based on testimonies and books of intercessors in Latin America and Africa who achieved revival there, believing that by researching history they gained insight into spiritual barriers of their nations.

While I believe this can be part of praying for revival, I also believe it has caused more harm than good, especially in Europe, which has far too much history to casually pick through. We are a people who see and call forth God’s future into existence. It is far better to pray the apostolic prayers recorded in the New Testament and God’s Word when we do not have specific revelation from God, rather than resort to various “modern” prayer strategies and checklists.

Prayer is not a human strategy — it is a divine command. Therefore, it is better to follow His guidance. For prayer we do not need grand teachings, but faith in what the Lord commands, sincere relationship, trust, and perseverance. Let us not forget that Jesus so loved the world that He gave Himself for it. The world that we try to change with our prayers. The only solution for all people is to know Jesus, and our task is to proclaim Him. If we do not intend to proclaim Him and bear witness for Him, it is better not to pray. No hatred, war, hunger, plague, bad politics, or sin motivates prayer as much as God’s revelation that He LOVES this world and KNOWS it.

The Lord gave us the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and expects us to pray according to the revelation He gives us, and to heed the prophetic word, which in the New Covenant is a weapon — not for condemnation as was the word of the Law, but for instruction and revelation, with which we fight spiritual battles:

“And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”: (Matthew 16:19 – NASB).

As the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy:

“This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by

you fight the good fight.”: (1 Timothy 1:18 – NASB).

This is the record that begins with vision for a specific region, because somewhere we must begin, but God has the book of Slovenia in His hand and wants to entrust to those who serve the plans He has for the future and reveal the true identity of our cities and our nation. Take the word that carries salvation and vision for our cities and our nation, and bring it before the Lord in prayer.

For when the measure of prayers becomes full, the fire of God will consume the altars we have built. And when the altar is established in the region, the heavens open over the entire region. What was once difficult becomes easy. What was once impossible is no longer noteworthy. Where once there was one, now there will be a hundred. We cannot just wait for God’s fire. It is time for prayer that truly works.