“And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Mathew; James the son of Alpheus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers” (Acts Chapter 1, verses 13-14).
The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost was preceded by prayer and supplication. This pattern remains the standard for revival throughout church history—revival is always preceded by prayer.
The upper room
“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” (Luke Chapter 24, verse 49).
The upper room is the place of waiting, watching, and prayer. The template Jesus gave the disciples has not changed: revival will only come when we gather to pray in one accord.
The upper room is the place where we die to our own needs and desires and pray until the power comes; it is the womb of revival. Although the upper room was a real place, I also see it as a metaphor for the throne room of God.
“Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace in time of need” (Hebrews Chapter 4, verse 16).
When we truly pray, we are not only in a physical location, but we are standing before the very throne of grace. The upper room is available for every church today and God is calling a generation that will ascend the throne room and pray until our communities are transformed and invaded by the kingdom of heaven.
Get back to the upper room
If there was ever a time when the church needed revival, that time is now, but we must go back to the upper room. The church has drifted away from the upper room to good music, luncheons, community service, etc. Whilst these things are good, our major preoccupation should be prayer.
There is a famine of revival in many nations today because the church has left the place of prayer. The upper room is empty and dusty; songs can be heard but no groaning; we claim to know the Lord but we do not weep for the lost; we brag about our sonship in Christ but devils still prevail in our communities.
The only church the devil fears is a praying church; memorize and quote all the scriptures you can but if you are not prayerful, you will be powerless. The church does not need more theologians—we have plenty of them.
We are not lacking in exegesis or doctrine; what we lack is broken men, men who will spend their lives in prayer and supplication before the throne of God.The average believer today cannot spend even an hour daily in prayer and we wonder why the devil has taken over the media and education? When watchmen leave their posts, the enemies will invade the city.
Revival will not come by saying it; it will come by prayer. We have a limited time to make an impact upon the earth so let us not spend it on frivolities! It’s time to get back to the upper room and pray until the glory of God comes.