12Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. 14All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Acts 1:12-14 (ESV)
In the life of the Christian there must be the ‘Shut door’ (private prayer), and in the life of any church there must be an ‘Upper room” (public prayer).
And just as there is no substitute for private prayer in the life of the Christian, so nothing can take the place of public prayer in the life of the church.
The church was born in the upper room. The baptism of the Holy Spirit, for which those early disciples were told to wait, was to mark the birth and the beginning of the infant church; and for ten days this company of praying souls was gathered in the place of united prayer until the heavens were rent and “all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:4).
It is in such upper rooms that the greatest business in the world is transacted by the church, under the presidency of the Holy Spirit, where humble, born-again souls meet and gave their all in prayer before God with an eagerness to do His will.
As we read in Acts there were 120 men and women gathered in the upper room “not just the disciples”, our Upper Room Prayer Meeting is open to the whole church family as we look together to see what is going to take place and what is going to be birthed, as it was in Acts.
“We may not have a physical “upper room” at the Centre but when we gather in the Pear Tree room every 3rd Sunday 7pm to 8pm, it becomes a special place for prayer, join us”.