How to Set Up a Family Altar

[Evangelist Cookie Hunter]

How to Make and Decorate a Home/Family Altar
By Evangelist Cookie Hunter April 11, 2011
 

A Home/Family Altar is a place to go to for worship, prayer, devotion and/or bible study. It can be in an apartment, a home, a cabin, on a boat or anywhere you desire. The only rules for a home altar is to make it a place of comfort and quiet time with the Lord. You can use your choice of furniture. Decoration is your choice also. Make it beautiful. Make it a Holy place!
 

Instructions:

Things you will need:

Table or Cabinet

Cloth

Flowers 

Candles 

Incense

Cross or Crucifix

Statuary/Picture of Christ

Ancestral Pieces

Bible or Prayer Book

Prayer List

Chair or Pillow or Mat
 

1. Choose what you will use as an altar. This could be a favorite desk, an antique side table, a shelf of any material, a dresser, a cabinet or any solid surface that is study enough. I prefer to use wood, although I do have a shelf made of metal too. Wood is more natural and comes from the earth.
 

2. Choose where you will place your altar. It should be a place where there is little or no immediate traffic and you can sit or stand quietly without interruptions. This will decrease the likelihood that visitors or children will tamper with or otherwise upset your altar. If you wish to share your altar space with visitors, ask them not to touch things without asking you. 
 

3. Place your chosen items on your altar. The cloth can be whatever you like, just keep it within the realm of the spiritual. I have used  African prints, Lace and Satin for my coverings. Candles in brass or glass holders are ideal. You may feel the need to light them when you are in prayer. Incense is not required but is makes a nice addition and it fills the whole house with the aroma of spiritual sweetness.  A cross and/ or statutes or pictures of Jesus helps to visually be intuned to the Holy Spirit. Ancestral pieces can be Grandpas watch or Auntie’s gold necklace or your childhood hair clips. Connecting your past to your future is an important part of our spirituality. A book of inspirational reading or a bible can be placed on your altar and used for meditation or study. I find that a prayer list is always helpful. It can be an index card or a sheet of paper. When I pray for others, I always place there name on my altar. Some may prefer to sit in a chair or on the floor during meditation, which is perfectly fine.
 

4. When you have your altar set up, dedicate it to God. This will give it a specific purpose for prayer and meditation. Your personal prayer or dedication should be of your own words from your heart. Always approach and leave your altar in a spiritual posture.

Enjoy your altar!