Upper Room Commentaries
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"I believe this August 5th and 6th will be pivotal, key days in The Kingdom as we meet in Dallas, Texas for the Upper Room meeting! From my first discussion with my friend Andre' van Zyl in January of this year and throughout the many conference calls, anticipation has built for a tremendous time of brokenness and humility as we cry out to God together for a great move of His Spirit!
My wife Kathie and I have changed our schedule to accommodate this meeting as we believe in its scope and significance. We will have many, many intercessors fasting and praying at Victory Christian Center for God to meet us in Dallas in a special way and bring clarity to His agenda for our meeting time and beyond. It excites me to walk this adventure with my fellow leader/servants and for each of us to set aside this time for God's Kingdom purposes rather than our own. May we see God do something that is an Ephesians 3:20 and may He and He alone be glorified!" David Thomas Victory Christian Center, NXL Network Youngstown, Ohio |
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The Upper Room Fellowship has been a breath of fresh air for me in the midst of the stale air of religion and church meetings. This movement reveals the hunger and desperation of apostolic leaders to see God change the atmosphere of our culture and world. At the first Upper Room meeting in Dallas, the glory and presence of God was so strong that I felt as though I would literally die under the weight of His glory. Those who are a part of this movement have died to themselves, their agendas and their ministries. The Upper Room is all about the restoration of the “Spirit of Prayer” returning to the Church through the leadership of this tribe of desperate men and women.
Pastor Tim Halbfoerster River of God Church Enola, PA |
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"My friend, you and I have lived in serious times!" John Adams wrote these poignant words in a letter to Thomas Jefferson but they convey the urgency and immediacy of our day. We are living in serious times! Prayer is our only and appropriate response to this dynamic. Although busyness is synonymous with effectiveness, Christ extends an invitation just below the roar of the hectic, frantic pace of life. However, believers have settled for powerless activity as a distracting medication for life's painful reality. We, myself included, are not seeing everything Jesus really wants to do in this day. The call is there; it has always been there-and never more dire than now. Jesus calls all believers to hear a serious word for a serious day. Back to the Upper Room is the collective hunger of men and women of God-serious, spiritual men and women who are unwilling to continue the status quo and are desperate for Jesus to speak, for the Spirit of Christ to adjust their lives, fill their mouths, and use their hands for Kingdom agendas. Time is of the essence! Come away and pray with us, and let Jesus know you really do believe, "It's not by the force of human effort; mountain-moving only comes about by My Spirit!"
Pastor Ron Crum |
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The early church was alive with prayer and fasting as the Holy Spirit empowered them to turn their world upside down. We have come to a day where many have replaced prayer with programs, social functions and elaborate productions…leaning on the arm of the flesh. As a result, many in the church today find themselves discouraged, disenchanted and disillusioned. I believe that God desires to empower His church again, with a genuine culture-shaking move of His power. However, the catalyst for us today is the same catalyst that shook the early church…prayer.
God is beckoning His church to enter into prayer. He is calling church leaders to seek His face. We must be like Habakkuk who prayed for revival and mercy in a day of declension…until God responded. Like Nehemiah, who sought God in a time of brokenness and despair…until God brought direction and revival. Let us hear His invitation and respond like the one hundred and twenty did in Acts 2…until He fills us and empowers us to reap His ripened harvest! Through prayer we will see a magnificent visitation of God upon His church…Christ will be the main attraction so the world might see Him…and find hope! The world is waiting. Pastor Tim Oldfield The Potter's House Columbus, Ohio |
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"The call to prayer is a mandate that has always been upon the body of Christ since its beginning. Today greater than ever the need to come together & pray corporately is not only a call but a must so we can clearly hear & respond to what God is saying to His remnant in this season. To strengthen that which remains we must know what God is saying to His church & receive our marching orders so we can fulfill with clear and concise direction His will in this that should be the churches brightest hour! Our hope is many leaders from all over & every background will come back to The Upper Room as we seek the Lord for a now word & new refreshing, revival that will lead to a reformation in not only our life's but the churches God has entrusted to us as well. The prayers said in unity is one of our greatest weapons against the kingdom of darkness if the Kingdom of Light is to prevail!"
Pastor Deon Lett New Destiny Church St. Petersburg, Florida |
The Book of Esther relates the role that an orphaned slave-girl played in saving the Jewish people from the murderous plan of a cruel enemy. This young woman of faith was asked to do a courageous thing — to stand alone before the king and to risk her favor in order to fulfill God’s purpose in the earth. As Esther contemplated her future, she was encouraged to the place of selflessness and sacrifice by the oft-repeated verse,“who knoweth whether thou are come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” (4:14). We can only imagine the urgency of the hour in which Esther stood. She wasn’t being afforded any delay. She had to choose what she would do and then act quickly. The Scriptures inform us that the Esther put feet to her prayers, and at the proper time, rose up in faith and risked her favor to fulfill her God-ordained purpose (4:16). We must understand that there are specific times and seasons when God presents to His people opportunities to significantly frustrate Satan’s Kingdom and further Christ’s Kingdom in the earth. These opportunities must be recognized and responded to while the door or window of advancement is open because it will not remain open indefinitely. There are occasions and junctures in life when there is being presented to you a chance to share in something greater and more glorious than anything you've experienced before and you must decide to move in that moment. It is often said that “the opportunity of a lifetime must be seized within the lifetime of the opportunity," and we need the help of Almighty God to assist us in taking advantage of the opportunities we are afforded because they may never present themselves again!
We are all familiar with the different Greek words for “time” — chronos and kairos. Chronos time is the ordinary, chronological time. Kairos time is the opportune time or better said, the time of opportunity! Kairos is the heightened time; the significant time; the set time; the appointed time; the proper time; the right time; the fullness of time! Kairos is a particular moment inside of chronos that has the capability to change the outcome of time itself. A kairos moment is a particular moment out of all of the other ordinary moments. It is a moment that is bursting forth with meaning and is pregnant with possibilities. It is a unique moment; an opportune moment! A kairos moment is not something you plan or organize; instead, it is something that you recognize! Esther recognized she was standing in a kairos moment when Mordecai stated, “Who knows whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” The Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament (LXX), renders this, “such a kairos as this?” You can have a sense of chronos, but you must seize kairos! Kairos is a God-given moment of destiny that calls for decision and action!
The Church is clearly standing in a kairos moment. Leaders from around the globe are not only sensing a call to prayer but are being overtaken by the spirit of prayer. Men and women who have never spoken to one another are discovering the same words coming forth from each others lips as the Spirit of God continues to direct us into the center of His will for this hour. This is not something we have planned, but rather, something we gladly recognize! God is at work, revealing end-time strategies that will further decimate the kingdom of darkness and advance the Kingdom of Light. This is a moment that has the potential to change the outcome of time itself. The sound from heaven is being released and is continuing to fill the Church so that it can, in turn, fill all of the earth! Like Esther, the time has come for each of us to understand the hour in which we are living and choose to risk the favor we have been given in order to fulfill God’s Kingdom purposes in the world. Let not any of us miss our moment, but let it be said of each of us, that we laid hold of this opportunity and understood that we had come to the kingdom for such a time as this!
Pastor Jim Ruddy
Bethel Assembly of God
Littlestown, PA
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This mandate of the Upper Room which has come forth to the greater Body of Christ is the seedbed for the healing of our land. We, as leaders, have been to the information conferences, the program conferences and how-to breakout sessions. It has left us tired, discouraged and feeling like we are lone rangers in this fight.
There is an awakening in the Body of Christ for the simple foundational mandate of the first church, Prayer. I promise you, this solemn assembly will connect you and challenge you unlike any other “event” you have attended. If you are looking for real, tangible relationship and a real, tangible move of God in you and you church the Upper Room Mandate is for you. God bless you Andre for hearing and responding to the Word of the Lord. Bill Wilson said, “Get up and go! The need is the call!” Brothers and Sisters the need for this day is the call… Pastor Scott Ethridge The Healing Place Shreveport,LA |
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The Spirit of Prayer
The Spirit of prayer is a constant, unceasing move of the Holy Spirit upon your Spirit to birth into reality the will of God. It is as though your every thought, movement, word and action is accompanied with the breath of God. It goes far beyond the typical “hour of prayer” as every hour Of every day you are aware of the speaking of the Holy Spirit through you whether alone or in a crowd. It is a constant burdening, not of the depressing kind but The joy of being able to pray effectually and fervently over a period of days, weeks or months at a time. It is always accompanied with brokenness, humility and weeping. It only lifts when the answer has been achieved in the Spirit and heavenly realms and is a guarantee of what is to come to pass. Pastor Mark Ivey Christ Alive Church Newton, NC |
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Prayer is to the believer what blood is to the body - without it there is no LIFE. Immediately after 9-11 the Red Cross reported they didn’t need any more blood because the blood banks were full. It wasn’t long before they began asking for blood again as Human blood can only be preserved for so long before it begins to break down. I am glad there is another Red Cross that has provided a blood that never breaks down! Much like our bodies need blood to remain alive, our Spirits need prayer to LIVE. And while “chatting” with the Lord will sustain you from day to day, you need to return periodically to the Upper Room with the Holy Ghost. I don’t care how long you have been involved in the things of the Spirit; you will never outgrow the need for an Upper Room experience. It is in these times that we receive revelation from the Lord, not just for OUR lives, but for HIS Kingdom purposes THROUGH our lives.
I hear the Spirit calling the Lord’s church, especially leaders, back to an Encounter. Not a conference, though conferences have their place, but a Fresh Encounter with the Holy Spirit of God. I have been afforded the opportunity to sit in on conference calls from day one of this Holy-Spirit-led orchestration and have wept uncontrollably in my office under the Power of His Spirit. Those on the conference calls have been men and women from all over the world, most of whom I have never met, yet we are connected by an insatiable hunger for a Fresh, Spiritual, Upper Room Encounter. Brother Andre, thank you for your sensitivity to the Spirit and taking the initiative to position yourself to hear from Heaven and respond accordingly. We who gather together will be the benefactors of your heart and the heart of our Heavenly Father. Pastor Donald L. Gibson Mont Belvieu Assembly of God Mont Belvieu, TX |
After receiving the call from Brother Andre my mind began to think about the major breakthroughs that happened simply because the New Testament church was both founded and established on the power of prevailing prayer.
I found it interesting that Andre felt the Lord talking to him about a call back to the “Upper Room”. As I pondered our phone call I was mindful that Jesus did not call for a conference, or to building project or establish a new program as the first order of business for the early church, but rather he called for a men to seek God and resist the enemy.
Of course we know Jesus was well ahead of his disciples. He had dealt with the spiritual forces that oppress the kingdom of God since the beginning of time. He knew well the enemy would spare no energy in coming against this small band of disciples. Jesus knew his rag-tag group of fishermen and tax-collectors would be no match in the spiritual arena for the powers of darkness.
Therefore, there was only one solution and that was from the get-go to launch the church based the power of the Spirit and not on the systems of the flesh. Jesus knew what his followers would really need could only be found by starting with days of seeking God to be equipped and empowered for the job he had called them to do.
And wow, did it work! The day of Pentecost set forth a spiritual revolution in the Holy Spirit that worked for them in a powerful way and still works for us today. What I find interesting is they prayed for ten days... preached for ten minutes and had over 3000 saved. We preach for ten days and pray for ten minutes and wonder why we never see
the results of the early church. Perhaps it’s not rocket science. After that first day - it was back to the Upper Room for the early church.
In the days to come they would see lame men dance, prison doors opened by angels, and people healed as the shadows of the leaders passed upon the crowd. As a matter of fact the number of instances in the book of Acts that outline divine activity that’s directly connected to prayer are almost too numerous to count.
In our day and age where we long to see God move in the same manner as he did then, must become once again the result of prevailing prayer. So, I heartily join with my brothers and sisters who believe the only REAL solution to the need for revival will not be found in a call to the Board Room - but a call back to the Upper Room.
Pastor Don James
Bethany Church
Wyckoff, NJ
I found it interesting that Andre felt the Lord talking to him about a call back to the “Upper Room”. As I pondered our phone call I was mindful that Jesus did not call for a conference, or to building project or establish a new program as the first order of business for the early church, but rather he called for a men to seek God and resist the enemy.
Of course we know Jesus was well ahead of his disciples. He had dealt with the spiritual forces that oppress the kingdom of God since the beginning of time. He knew well the enemy would spare no energy in coming against this small band of disciples. Jesus knew his rag-tag group of fishermen and tax-collectors would be no match in the spiritual arena for the powers of darkness.
Therefore, there was only one solution and that was from the get-go to launch the church based the power of the Spirit and not on the systems of the flesh. Jesus knew what his followers would really need could only be found by starting with days of seeking God to be equipped and empowered for the job he had called them to do.
And wow, did it work! The day of Pentecost set forth a spiritual revolution in the Holy Spirit that worked for them in a powerful way and still works for us today. What I find interesting is they prayed for ten days... preached for ten minutes and had over 3000 saved. We preach for ten days and pray for ten minutes and wonder why we never see
the results of the early church. Perhaps it’s not rocket science. After that first day - it was back to the Upper Room for the early church.
In the days to come they would see lame men dance, prison doors opened by angels, and people healed as the shadows of the leaders passed upon the crowd. As a matter of fact the number of instances in the book of Acts that outline divine activity that’s directly connected to prayer are almost too numerous to count.
In our day and age where we long to see God move in the same manner as he did then, must become once again the result of prevailing prayer. So, I heartily join with my brothers and sisters who believe the only REAL solution to the need for revival will not be found in a call to the Board Room - but a call back to the Upper Room.
Pastor Don James
Bethany Church
Wyckoff, NJ
Dear Gods Generals!
My heart is overwhelmed today as I ponder the greatness of God. It seems that there is such a stirring taking place around the land. There is a clarion call for God’s Generals to step back into the secret place of Psalms 91. The place where you and He commune as one. That place where intrusions, opinions, flesh, plans, ideas, agendas, and even dreams fall to the way side.
Since becoming a part of the Upper Room several months ago my family, our ministry, our staff, and most of all I have begun to have deep encounters with the Holy Spirit. I travel close to 150,000 miles a year, and it is so easy to just become a spiritual robot of sorts. In fact I have found it easy to operate in the aroma of old oil. Yet, God has more for us. His plans have been laid out and He is calling us to follow the plan. The Upper room has stirred me to always be aware of His presence, to be aware of the supernatural, and walk in deeper understanding of His voice.
You see God will not allow us to be comfortable. He loves us to much to simply ignite our hearts and walk away. The call from the throne is the Isaiah 58 call of restoration, completion, and healing. Since receiving “the Spirit of prayer,” my family has been transformed. We have also begun to see miracles across the land that we only dreamed of seeing. When Colossians speaks of devoting yourself to prayer you are calling your flesh into deep submission to the creator of your body. When you vote you are exercising a right so when you “devote” you lose your rights! So many leaders dream of seeing signs and wonders, masses saved, and the manifestation of God’s blessings, but what we must always realize is that God has already been at work on our behalf.
The Upper Room call is for leaders who are desperate, hungry, and at the end of themselves. It is not for the political at heart or the weak in passion. It is a place of healing and restoration where God can sew your armor back on for the long term vision. Your mantle and call according to Romans 11:29 will never depart, but how you use that mantle and calling is directly linked to your hunger for His presence. I believe with all of my heart God is jealous for the attention of those who have accepted His mandate. He is waiting! He is calling “You can’t do it without me!”
I praise God that he has awakened me to my own self with a call back to the Upper Room. Ministry will become fun and fulfilling when it is done in alignment with the one who called you. I am so thankful for my dear friend Andre’ van Zyl’s mandate and the Holy Spirit call of returning to the Upper Room. I shall never be the same. The lives we touch because of the obedience of that call will only be truly understood as we stand together at the throne of heaven! Leaders this our “Now” Moment! History will speak of these days with a sigh or if we are obedient a shout! Lets climb back up the stairs and wait upon the Lord! Save me a seat in the Upper Room!
Patrick H. Schatzline
President of Mercy Seat Ministries, Inc., and The Forerunner Schools of Ministry
www.mercyseatministries.com
My heart is overwhelmed today as I ponder the greatness of God. It seems that there is such a stirring taking place around the land. There is a clarion call for God’s Generals to step back into the secret place of Psalms 91. The place where you and He commune as one. That place where intrusions, opinions, flesh, plans, ideas, agendas, and even dreams fall to the way side.
Since becoming a part of the Upper Room several months ago my family, our ministry, our staff, and most of all I have begun to have deep encounters with the Holy Spirit. I travel close to 150,000 miles a year, and it is so easy to just become a spiritual robot of sorts. In fact I have found it easy to operate in the aroma of old oil. Yet, God has more for us. His plans have been laid out and He is calling us to follow the plan. The Upper room has stirred me to always be aware of His presence, to be aware of the supernatural, and walk in deeper understanding of His voice.
You see God will not allow us to be comfortable. He loves us to much to simply ignite our hearts and walk away. The call from the throne is the Isaiah 58 call of restoration, completion, and healing. Since receiving “the Spirit of prayer,” my family has been transformed. We have also begun to see miracles across the land that we only dreamed of seeing. When Colossians speaks of devoting yourself to prayer you are calling your flesh into deep submission to the creator of your body. When you vote you are exercising a right so when you “devote” you lose your rights! So many leaders dream of seeing signs and wonders, masses saved, and the manifestation of God’s blessings, but what we must always realize is that God has already been at work on our behalf.
The Upper Room call is for leaders who are desperate, hungry, and at the end of themselves. It is not for the political at heart or the weak in passion. It is a place of healing and restoration where God can sew your armor back on for the long term vision. Your mantle and call according to Romans 11:29 will never depart, but how you use that mantle and calling is directly linked to your hunger for His presence. I believe with all of my heart God is jealous for the attention of those who have accepted His mandate. He is waiting! He is calling “You can’t do it without me!”
I praise God that he has awakened me to my own self with a call back to the Upper Room. Ministry will become fun and fulfilling when it is done in alignment with the one who called you. I am so thankful for my dear friend Andre’ van Zyl’s mandate and the Holy Spirit call of returning to the Upper Room. I shall never be the same. The lives we touch because of the obedience of that call will only be truly understood as we stand together at the throne of heaven! Leaders this our “Now” Moment! History will speak of these days with a sigh or if we are obedient a shout! Lets climb back up the stairs and wait upon the Lord! Save me a seat in the Upper Room!
Patrick H. Schatzline
President of Mercy Seat Ministries, Inc., and The Forerunner Schools of Ministry
www.mercyseatministries.com
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I believe that Isaiah 60:1-5 reveals to us that God will rise up and he will move over and through his people and the earth will see it. The manifestation of God’s glory will be over the church like the pillar of fire appeared over the tabernacle. I believe that signs and wonders will return back to the church and be a witness like the early church. I believe that the glory of the Lord will return as described in the Hebrew term for Glory (Chabod). This speaks as something of weight, of essence, of something real, of a substance. This is the reality of God, through the very real person of the Holy Spirit. When God manifest his glory, it can and will be seen and felt. For too long we have not seen the true glory of God. God never intended for the earth to be without his glory. Prayer can do anything that God can do and God chooses to nothing outside of prevailing prayer. So let us, pray, pray, pray, and experience his glory.
Pastor Kent Miller Palace of Praise Poplar Bluff, MO |
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"Jesus reminds us that the last days are comparable to the spirit of lawlessness that prevailed in the last days of Noah's generation. Meanwhile, we restrain these forces through the power of the indwelling Spirit of Messiah within us who are called by his name. His Spirit urges us to pray, to restrain evil's intent through prayer. But most of all, his Spirit beckons us to advance the good news of the kingdom of God to all the nations.
Nations are changed one heart at a time through the power of prayer and proclamation. For these reasons, when the call was issued to "go back to the Upper Room" to pray and wait on God, I was deeply moved within my soul. A well spring of anticipation gushed within me to join with a host of Spirit-filled leaders for a global renewal of the Body of Messiah and a spiritual awakening among the nations. I can do no less than to be a part of this widening prayer movement that stretches beyond borders and boundaries of all kinds." Pastor Ed Nelson Cornerstone AG State secretary of the AG, South Carolina |
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Most of us are all aware of the Outpouring of the Holy Spirit that started in 1995 in Pensacola Florida. It impacted thousands of leaders and churches and multitudes of people from around the world. I myself made the journey to Pensacola several times with some of my church leaders and members while pastoring in Memphis Tennessee. I longed for a move of God in my own life and ministry that would out live me. Though we were blessed and our church experienced a measure of revival and refreshing through the Pensacola Outpouring we never saw a great harvest of souls gathered in or what I would consider and exceptional move of God. After a while I became frustrated and discouraged not understanding why we could not get our break through, as others were who had attended the Pensacola meetings. I received peace from the Lord about it when an Apostle friend gave me this word. “The reason that God was not allowing you to experience the fullness of the move of God in Pensacola is because He was getting you ready for the next move of God that is coming.” While in prayer at the Upper Room Meeting in Dallas I was reminded of that word that I had receive approximately 10 years before. The Holy Spirit moved on me is such a way that caused me to believe that this was the beginning of that move of God. I am excited about the Spirit of Prayer that is being birth in this Upper Room ministry and movement and have a sense of personal destiny connected to it. Barney and Cindy Huie Pastors/Founders Oasis Church, Garland, Texas |
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Overseeing more than 3000 churches in Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. It is only through the Spirit of Prayer that we do the impossible.
Pastor Paul Ai Vietnamese Outreach International Hampton, VA |
When Brother Andre shared with me that the Holy Spirit told him to call pastors to return to the Upper Room in order to return to the “spirit of prayer” I felt an immediate witness that Andre had just articulated what had been stirring in my heart for a long time. As soon as the phone call commenced I saw the word “crown” in my spirit. After considering several biblically compatible references as to what that might mean, the Holy Spirit showed me something completely outside the box: the “crown” was that of a baby’s head lodged in the birth canal. The mother (the church) was too weak in her “natural” strength to deliver the child. What God is birthing can not be delivered by the church apart from the Holy Spirit. It must not only be conceived by the Holy Spirit, it must also be delivered by the Holy Spirit. That is what I perceive the return to the “spirit of prayer” is all about.
At the meeting in Dallas we acknowledged we did not have enough wisdom, ability or finances to do what God could only accomplish by His Spirit. We left Dallas both humbled and excited. Since arriving home, our church has been experiencing a wonderful refreshing with an increase in salvations and a release of spiritual gifts resulting in great joy!
Mark Biel
Rock of Grace
Kinsman, Ohio
At the meeting in Dallas we acknowledged we did not have enough wisdom, ability or finances to do what God could only accomplish by His Spirit. We left Dallas both humbled and excited. Since arriving home, our church has been experiencing a wonderful refreshing with an increase in salvations and a release of spiritual gifts resulting in great joy!
Mark Biel
Rock of Grace
Kinsman, Ohio
All the great revivals, awakenings, reformations and transformations of church history have been birthed in prayer. The move of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost was a precipitation of unity in prayer in the upper room. The Welsh Revival and Azusa Street of a hundred years ago were the same.
Today, we stand on the shoulders of those who labored with their hands and knees! Action without prayer is useless; prayer without action is equally useless! The greatest changes in this world, whether affecting nations, civilizations, cities, families or individuals have come about because someone or some group went to God with a petition.
I'm also convinced that the human race has only survived because of parents and grandparents covering their children and grandchildren in prayer for their protection. Yes, I believe prayer is a major survival strategy not only in the spiritual but also in the natural!
In a time when all things are being shaken, the solidity that comes from purposeful prayer being presented to the Rock that will never roll, will insure that His will will be done 'on earth as it is in heaven.'
Let's pray that His Kingdom will come quickly!
Pastor Jeff Beacham
Firepower Ministries International
GenNet
Today, we stand on the shoulders of those who labored with their hands and knees! Action without prayer is useless; prayer without action is equally useless! The greatest changes in this world, whether affecting nations, civilizations, cities, families or individuals have come about because someone or some group went to God with a petition.
I'm also convinced that the human race has only survived because of parents and grandparents covering their children and grandchildren in prayer for their protection. Yes, I believe prayer is a major survival strategy not only in the spiritual but also in the natural!
In a time when all things are being shaken, the solidity that comes from purposeful prayer being presented to the Rock that will never roll, will insure that His will will be done 'on earth as it is in heaven.'
Let's pray that His Kingdom will come quickly!
Pastor Jeff Beacham
Firepower Ministries International
GenNet
When I became born again I began to pray and talk to God all of the time. Because I grew up in Communist Bulgaria and was a brainwashed atheist, I wanted to make up for lost time. During my early days when I was single, I would spend 8-10 hours reading the word, worshiping and talking with God. I was so hungry for Him and had such a marvelous time discovering what was inside the Bible.
Imagine my shock and surprise when I started attending Bible school and our instructor taught us that prayer is very hard work, and he compared it to the exhausting labor of ditch digging. He couldn't have been further from the truth; prayer had already become my oxygen and my food which came from an all-consuming passion and personal relationship with the living God.
Personally what makes a big difference for me is that I know God as my father. He already knows what I need and what I want, and therefore when I pray I can always pray from a place of expectancy.
Prayer is also about flowing with the Holy Spirit and the desires of His passion instead of initiating something of my own. I find myself groaning with the the Spirit and expressing the things that cannot be put in words, the ecstasy of the Spirit breathing upon me. It is a joy and I find myself praying His prayers all the time, it is never idle - I'm always in communication with the Father. The engine never stops, especially when the enemy surrounds me and I hear the Lord say get down let's talk, let's eat. In the presence of the enemy there is a feast available and that is prayer and worship.
When you are faithful in a little God gives you much! We are now declaring for the entire nation to be transformed! The Shift is a nationwide prayer initiative for the United States of America. For more information go to www.globalcelebration.com
Pastor Georgian Banov
Global Celebration
Valrico, FL
Imagine my shock and surprise when I started attending Bible school and our instructor taught us that prayer is very hard work, and he compared it to the exhausting labor of ditch digging. He couldn't have been further from the truth; prayer had already become my oxygen and my food which came from an all-consuming passion and personal relationship with the living God.
Personally what makes a big difference for me is that I know God as my father. He already knows what I need and what I want, and therefore when I pray I can always pray from a place of expectancy.
Prayer is also about flowing with the Holy Spirit and the desires of His passion instead of initiating something of my own. I find myself groaning with the the Spirit and expressing the things that cannot be put in words, the ecstasy of the Spirit breathing upon me. It is a joy and I find myself praying His prayers all the time, it is never idle - I'm always in communication with the Father. The engine never stops, especially when the enemy surrounds me and I hear the Lord say get down let's talk, let's eat. In the presence of the enemy there is a feast available and that is prayer and worship.
When you are faithful in a little God gives you much! We are now declaring for the entire nation to be transformed! The Shift is a nationwide prayer initiative for the United States of America. For more information go to www.globalcelebration.com
Pastor Georgian Banov
Global Celebration
Valrico, FL
I joined a conference call with Andre van Zyl. It was a phenomenal time of prayer and going after God. The call to prayer is so right for this season we're currently in. The Lord is going to sweep across America and other nations with this timely call to the Upper Room Prayer!
Pastor Evon Horton
Brownsville Assembly
Pensacola, FL
Pastor Evon Horton
Brownsville Assembly
Pensacola, FL
The Church is never as powerful as when the Church is in prayer and fasting. In a recent survey done by the Barna Group a little over 5 years ago, it stated the average pastor in America prays 5 minutes a day. Could this be the reason that our culture and our nation has shifted from a country that was so excited to proclaim, “In God We Trust” to a country that now touts itself as a post-Christian nation?
America cannot come back to God until the churches come back to God. American churches cannot come back to God until American pastors and leaders come back to God. The only way a pastor can lead his church and his people into the deeper things of God is through prayer. We must pray!
Dr. Randy Valimont
Griffin First Assembly
Griffin, GA
America cannot come back to God until the churches come back to God. American churches cannot come back to God until American pastors and leaders come back to God. The only way a pastor can lead his church and his people into the deeper things of God is through prayer. We must pray!
Dr. Randy Valimont
Griffin First Assembly
Griffin, GA
Unity in prayer was a hallmark of the early church and as a result, through "Great Power" the testimony of the resurrection of Jesus Christ filled all Jerusalem. According to John 17:21, Jesus prayed for the unity of His body so that the world would believe that He was sent by the Father. Oh that the glory that Jesus left His church would make us one as we unite in prayer so that with "Great Power" the world would come to believe the truth about Jesus.
Arthur Guice
Senior Pastor
Spirit of Liberty Church of God
Markham, IL
Arthur Guice
Senior Pastor
Spirit of Liberty Church of God
Markham, IL
My utmost appreciation to Andre van Zyl for obeying God’s call to return to the Upper Room, and recapture the spirit of prayer. Others in this nation are awakening to this greatest need and Andre is favored to be part of this move with Devine opportunity to touch many different tribes.
I see it as a time for a pit-stop near the end of the race to refuel for power to finish. It is most needed therefore much resisted. May we keep him in our prayers.
Pastor Roy Harless
Freedom Christian Fellowship
Norwalk, Ohio
I see it as a time for a pit-stop near the end of the race to refuel for power to finish. It is most needed therefore much resisted. May we keep him in our prayers.
Pastor Roy Harless
Freedom Christian Fellowship
Norwalk, Ohio
If ever the Church in America needed to hear from God, it is now. We are directionless, visionless and ridden with greed and scandal. Yet, it is not too late. I fully believe we will hear from God in Dallas.
Thank you for bringing us together, Brother Andre.
Paul Grabill
State College, PA
Thank you for bringing us together, Brother Andre.
Paul Grabill
State College, PA
Repairing the Altar that Alters Nations
The climate was one ruled by idolatry, selfish living, and a loss of God’s vision for the Nation, it was a nation in famine- The altar of the Lord had been broken down. Prayer to God had been displaced by a nation who became distracted with other “gods”. God found a man in whom He would raise up to be a voice and one that He would entrust to rebuild the altar of sacrifice and prayer to God Jehovah.
In I Kings 18:18, Elijah had been accused of being the source of trouble and the cause of the famine in the land. Elijah spoke truth in a day when compromise by those who listened would have been preferred. Elijah said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed the God of Baal”. In verse 30, we see the turn around act of obedience that would alter a nation and bring rain to a land in famine. “And Elijah said to all the people, come near to me, and the people came near and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down”.
When sacrifice and prayer to God had been offered up by one man in total obedience, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice. The results of a repaired altar that altered a nation is clear in verse 39 “and when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and said, the Lord He is God”. The framework of their idolatry was destroyed and God sent rain to a land in need. We must be challenged in the present day to see that times, and methods change, but the pattern of God’s requirement to send spiritual rain upon the land will only come when we turn our hearts in prayer toward God. Pastor Cho in his description on the power of prayer said it best, “More prayer more power, less prayer, less power, no prayer no power”. May we be challenged as leaders in the Faith to be a last day voice and example of prayer as we seek God’s face and repair the broken altars and see that it will alter the nations of our day.
Bishop Barry A. Clardy
Princeton Pike Church of God
Hamilton, Ohio
The climate was one ruled by idolatry, selfish living, and a loss of God’s vision for the Nation, it was a nation in famine- The altar of the Lord had been broken down. Prayer to God had been displaced by a nation who became distracted with other “gods”. God found a man in whom He would raise up to be a voice and one that He would entrust to rebuild the altar of sacrifice and prayer to God Jehovah.
In I Kings 18:18, Elijah had been accused of being the source of trouble and the cause of the famine in the land. Elijah spoke truth in a day when compromise by those who listened would have been preferred. Elijah said, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and have followed the God of Baal”. In verse 30, we see the turn around act of obedience that would alter a nation and bring rain to a land in famine. “And Elijah said to all the people, come near to me, and the people came near and he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down”.
When sacrifice and prayer to God had been offered up by one man in total obedience, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice. The results of a repaired altar that altered a nation is clear in verse 39 “and when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and said, the Lord He is God”. The framework of their idolatry was destroyed and God sent rain to a land in need. We must be challenged in the present day to see that times, and methods change, but the pattern of God’s requirement to send spiritual rain upon the land will only come when we turn our hearts in prayer toward God. Pastor Cho in his description on the power of prayer said it best, “More prayer more power, less prayer, less power, no prayer no power”. May we be challenged as leaders in the Faith to be a last day voice and example of prayer as we seek God’s face and repair the broken altars and see that it will alter the nations of our day.
Bishop Barry A. Clardy
Princeton Pike Church of God
Hamilton, Ohio
It is my conviction that we are living in the final era of human history. The coming of the Lord is at hand! The Apostle Peter informed us that when the Spirit of the Lord was poured out on the Day of Pentecost as recorded in Acts chapter two, that this was the start of “The Last Days” (Acts 2:17). Two thousand years later, one might say then that we are now living in the “last of the last days!”
Paul prophetically speaks of the behavior that will characterize men in the last days. He cries out, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).
It is sometimes argued that the behavioral characteristics cited in this passage refer solely to those outside of the Church. However, this simply is not true! In verse 5, Paul states say there would be a people in the last days that possess a semblance of religion, but lack the transforming power of the Holy Spirit! We read, “having a form of godliness but deny its power.” The word rendered “power” in the text is dunamis and speaks of miraculous power. In Matthew 11:20, it is translated “mighty works” clearly referring to the miracles that accompanied Jesus' ministry! The preaching of the Gospel to all the nations of the world in the power of the Spirit is what our Lord said would usher in the End (Matt. 24:14). The Kingdom Gospel is not merely rhetoric; it is demonstrative power with signs and wonders! (1 Cor. 4:20).
What will turn the tide of ungodliness in our culture today? It is the witness of Heaven validating our message and ministries! “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit....” (Hebrews 2:4). Such a testimony will captivate the peoples and create an opportunity for us to preach Christ to them with authority. “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did” (Acts 8:6 Emphasis Mine).
Our world is in a crisis! We desperately need a Global Awakening! We must permit ourselves to become captivated by the Spirit of Grace and supplication (Zechariah 12:10) for only then will we be able to pray in manner that is required by God in this hour! The call back to the Upper Room is God – ordained.
The Awakening that the Lord has prescribed for the ills of our culture will begin only as a remnant humble themselves, repent and pray. From us it will spread as fire to our churches and to the nations!
Now is the time to humble ourselves and seek the Lord until He rains righteousness upon our Land and pours out His Spirit afresh in such a way that the nations shake in His presence and before His glory and power!
Rev. Glenn Bleakney
Awake Nations Ministries
Lakeland. Florida
Paul prophetically speaks of the behavior that will characterize men in the last days. He cries out, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.” (2 Timothy 3:1-4).
It is sometimes argued that the behavioral characteristics cited in this passage refer solely to those outside of the Church. However, this simply is not true! In verse 5, Paul states say there would be a people in the last days that possess a semblance of religion, but lack the transforming power of the Holy Spirit! We read, “having a form of godliness but deny its power.” The word rendered “power” in the text is dunamis and speaks of miraculous power. In Matthew 11:20, it is translated “mighty works” clearly referring to the miracles that accompanied Jesus' ministry! The preaching of the Gospel to all the nations of the world in the power of the Spirit is what our Lord said would usher in the End (Matt. 24:14). The Kingdom Gospel is not merely rhetoric; it is demonstrative power with signs and wonders! (1 Cor. 4:20).
What will turn the tide of ungodliness in our culture today? It is the witness of Heaven validating our message and ministries! “God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit....” (Hebrews 2:4). Such a testimony will captivate the peoples and create an opportunity for us to preach Christ to them with authority. “And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did” (Acts 8:6 Emphasis Mine).
Our world is in a crisis! We desperately need a Global Awakening! We must permit ourselves to become captivated by the Spirit of Grace and supplication (Zechariah 12:10) for only then will we be able to pray in manner that is required by God in this hour! The call back to the Upper Room is God – ordained.
The Awakening that the Lord has prescribed for the ills of our culture will begin only as a remnant humble themselves, repent and pray. From us it will spread as fire to our churches and to the nations!
Now is the time to humble ourselves and seek the Lord until He rains righteousness upon our Land and pours out His Spirit afresh in such a way that the nations shake in His presence and before His glory and power!
Rev. Glenn Bleakney
Awake Nations Ministries
Lakeland. Florida
The Church has lost its desire to pray and its people have forgotten how to call on God for themselves. But when the Spirit of prayer is renewed God will once again “hear from heaven and heal our land”. My greatest desire is to see the people of God rise up as a “kingdom of Priests” in our land according to Gods original plan Ex 19:6.
When children of God realize that prayer is our connection to the Father and begin to pray earnestly for revival to come God will truly answer. My prayer is that God will allow me to be a vessel that can lead a people back to the upper room where they will experience God in a mighty way!
Pastor Steve Seymour
Jesus Saves International Church
Shafter, CA
When children of God realize that prayer is our connection to the Father and begin to pray earnestly for revival to come God will truly answer. My prayer is that God will allow me to be a vessel that can lead a people back to the upper room where they will experience God in a mighty way!
Pastor Steve Seymour
Jesus Saves International Church
Shafter, CA
If the church is the engine room of the Kingdom of God then prayer is the fuel in her tanks. “Back to the Upper Room” is not another event to put on your calendar. It is a call to infuse Holy Spirit fuel back into the church to activate and realize her Divine potential in the End Time revival.
Lost souls are not saved by programs and formalities but by the works of God released through the people of God in the spirit of prayer. To be prayer-less is to be powerless. The Upper Room is a place where “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8) Returning to the Upper Room is not a step back but a giant leap towards the realization of God’s plans in the earth today. It is not an option but a necessity. I urge you to take a step in the right direction today; join Andre and a growing number of key church leaders and go “Back to the Upper Room!”
Pastor Rudi Swanepoel
God's Glory Ministries International, Inc.
Dacula, GA
Lost souls are not saved by programs and formalities but by the works of God released through the people of God in the spirit of prayer. To be prayer-less is to be powerless. The Upper Room is a place where “you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8) Returning to the Upper Room is not a step back but a giant leap towards the realization of God’s plans in the earth today. It is not an option but a necessity. I urge you to take a step in the right direction today; join Andre and a growing number of key church leaders and go “Back to the Upper Room!”
Pastor Rudi Swanepoel
God's Glory Ministries International, Inc.
Dacula, GA
I very much appreciated the opportunity to participate in the “Upper Room” conference call. I was struck by the distinction that was made between prayer and the “Spirit of prayer” and its role in God’s end-time agenda. I believe that the Church now has a critical role as the transitional generation of believers that sees the climax of the Church Age and acts as the prophetic herald of the Kingdom Age. Since the distinctive characteristic of the Kingdom Age is the rule of Christ, the Messenger Church manifests that message of hope for the nations by His evident rule in us, and through us by the good news message of the kingdom accompanied by corroborating signs and wonders.
Our social environment has been quickly transformed by the effects of online systems such as internet, cell phones, and ATM machines. I believe there is a corresponding transformational spiritual element being introduced, which could be identified as “the spirit of prayer”. The distinction is pointing to a generation that is “online” with Holy Spirit. Prayer is then not limited to a set apart time or place, but is an immediate and continuous conversation and communion that becomes the common community experience. The upper room, or the historical secret place, is a mobile portal that connects heaven and earth through each believer. It is that special place that Jesus said He would prepare for us so that we could be where He is, and so that as He is in His ascended glory, so we can be as His representatives in this world.
I see the “Upper Room” gathering as an invitation to ascend the steps, and look forward to the processional journey together.
Pastor John Kristensen
Elim Family Worship Centre
Canada
Our social environment has been quickly transformed by the effects of online systems such as internet, cell phones, and ATM machines. I believe there is a corresponding transformational spiritual element being introduced, which could be identified as “the spirit of prayer”. The distinction is pointing to a generation that is “online” with Holy Spirit. Prayer is then not limited to a set apart time or place, but is an immediate and continuous conversation and communion that becomes the common community experience. The upper room, or the historical secret place, is a mobile portal that connects heaven and earth through each believer. It is that special place that Jesus said He would prepare for us so that we could be where He is, and so that as He is in His ascended glory, so we can be as His representatives in this world.
I see the “Upper Room” gathering as an invitation to ascend the steps, and look forward to the processional journey together.
Pastor John Kristensen
Elim Family Worship Centre
Canada
DEEP CALLS UNTO DEEP
I believe the Upper Room is a call from the Spirit of prayer to deepen our prayer cry! The Upper Room is a catalyst for birthing a new prayer cry in the apostolic leadership of our nation; those who have an ear to hear beyond the surface of our current level of worship and intercession.
Our coming together for the Upper Room gathering in Dallas made a huge impact on my wife and me. The Sunday immediately following this gathering time, the spirit of prayer was released into our church body through a time of intense worship and intercession. We now seem to be on a forward momentum toward revival! It is without a doubt a season of battle, but also one of blessing. We are looking forward with great expectation to the next Upper Room gathering. We fully anticipate a greater apostolic impartation that will energize and empower all who attend to break open new territories so that the Kingdom of God can be expanded in the earth!
Pastor Paul and Kim Owens
LightHouse Church
Peoria, AZ
I believe the Upper Room is a call from the Spirit of prayer to deepen our prayer cry! The Upper Room is a catalyst for birthing a new prayer cry in the apostolic leadership of our nation; those who have an ear to hear beyond the surface of our current level of worship and intercession.
Our coming together for the Upper Room gathering in Dallas made a huge impact on my wife and me. The Sunday immediately following this gathering time, the spirit of prayer was released into our church body through a time of intense worship and intercession. We now seem to be on a forward momentum toward revival! It is without a doubt a season of battle, but also one of blessing. We are looking forward with great expectation to the next Upper Room gathering. We fully anticipate a greater apostolic impartation that will energize and empower all who attend to break open new territories so that the Kingdom of God can be expanded in the earth!
Pastor Paul and Kim Owens
LightHouse Church
Peoria, AZ
Spirit of Prayer
Jesus gave freely what He possessed on earth in bringing restored relationship with God the Father. I genuinely believe that God is longing for the alignment of His children to His eternal love. He is not mad at people, He simply longs for intimate relationship with those for whom He gave everything. He gives the Spirit of Prayer for redemptive purposes…When the Spirit of prayer functions in the Bride, an intimate partnership develops and kingdom work is expanded. Jesus, the Bridegroom, and the Bride move in transcending purpose fulfilling the Father’s burning desire.
The Call Back to the Upper Room is significant and timely. Conferences and Seminars are necessary in ministry for training, but the Upper Room is the gathering of leaders who desire a return to the urgency of the Spirit of Prayer. Apostolic leadership is drawn together when Global Spirit activity is near birthing. Years separated many from dreams and visions God delivered to them over a decade ago; however, out of the silence a sound is arising. It is His voice saying “NOW is the time!!! Draw near and listen” A suddenly is upon us…I’m ready.
Earth’s awareness of the Father’s kingdom intentions, expressed in spiritual dimensions through relationship with His people, is the Spirit of Prayer. Jesus demonstrated this in living example as He communicated with the Father continually. Many times Jesus reminded the people around him that He only did what He saw the Father doing. His constant communication kept Him connected with the source of all things. Jesus was the fulfillment of all and all, but He could not function outside the “Spirit of Prayer” A relationship like this seems impossible to a casual acquaintance of God; yet, the results of Jesus are indisputable. Searching the scriptures will not uncover one verse that reads the words “Spirit of Prayer”; however, many areas of the Word imply this powerful reality. Luke 11 pulls back a curtain into a scene with Jesus and His disciples. Following Jesus were unpredictable steps of adventure from day to day, but one thing that stayed consistent was the observation of Jesus praying. It wasn’t the way He prayed or a particular style that attracted their interest; it was the relationship with prayer by which He lived His life. Burning passion for getting with His Father filled the air with an aroma that demanded the disciples’ exclamation “Lord, teach us to pray…” The intangible Spirit of Prayer manifested in a living reality in His life. Prayer was not something He did or performed. Prayer was cultivated and carried out by the Spirit of God…The Father partnering with the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit that effects earth with the breath of the kingdom of heaven. The Spirit of Prayer is not patriotism as in an allegiance to something or a fan of some institution, but a living relationship with the heart of the Father. Someone might have school spirit, or, have spirit for something or some place; however, the Spirit of Prayer is based on personal relationship with God Himself. Those in the Upper Room of Acts 2 caught the Spirit of Prayer when they received a Baptism of Fire in the Holy Spirit. The 120 people caught an insight to the Father’s heart that teaching could not orchestrate, but a gift from God could deposit. They willingly laid down their personal desires and took on God’s passions. Jesus and those receiving the upper room outpouring were an unmistakable revelation of the restoration of Divine authority. Carrying His Spirit makes impact in both the individual and in the lives of a culture. Jesus carried the Spirit of Prayer for the redemption of a generation. The early church believers were baptized in God’s Spirit gift, and displayed heaven touching and earth changing awareness. The Spirit of Prayer increases attentiveness to what God cares about before personal needs or concerns.
This is the generation that will usher in the Coming of the Lord!!!
Kevin Peterson
Refining Fire Ministry
Red Oak, TX.
Jesus gave freely what He possessed on earth in bringing restored relationship with God the Father. I genuinely believe that God is longing for the alignment of His children to His eternal love. He is not mad at people, He simply longs for intimate relationship with those for whom He gave everything. He gives the Spirit of Prayer for redemptive purposes…When the Spirit of prayer functions in the Bride, an intimate partnership develops and kingdom work is expanded. Jesus, the Bridegroom, and the Bride move in transcending purpose fulfilling the Father’s burning desire.
The Call Back to the Upper Room is significant and timely. Conferences and Seminars are necessary in ministry for training, but the Upper Room is the gathering of leaders who desire a return to the urgency of the Spirit of Prayer. Apostolic leadership is drawn together when Global Spirit activity is near birthing. Years separated many from dreams and visions God delivered to them over a decade ago; however, out of the silence a sound is arising. It is His voice saying “NOW is the time!!! Draw near and listen” A suddenly is upon us…I’m ready.
Earth’s awareness of the Father’s kingdom intentions, expressed in spiritual dimensions through relationship with His people, is the Spirit of Prayer. Jesus demonstrated this in living example as He communicated with the Father continually. Many times Jesus reminded the people around him that He only did what He saw the Father doing. His constant communication kept Him connected with the source of all things. Jesus was the fulfillment of all and all, but He could not function outside the “Spirit of Prayer” A relationship like this seems impossible to a casual acquaintance of God; yet, the results of Jesus are indisputable. Searching the scriptures will not uncover one verse that reads the words “Spirit of Prayer”; however, many areas of the Word imply this powerful reality. Luke 11 pulls back a curtain into a scene with Jesus and His disciples. Following Jesus were unpredictable steps of adventure from day to day, but one thing that stayed consistent was the observation of Jesus praying. It wasn’t the way He prayed or a particular style that attracted their interest; it was the relationship with prayer by which He lived His life. Burning passion for getting with His Father filled the air with an aroma that demanded the disciples’ exclamation “Lord, teach us to pray…” The intangible Spirit of Prayer manifested in a living reality in His life. Prayer was not something He did or performed. Prayer was cultivated and carried out by the Spirit of God…The Father partnering with the Son, empowered by the Holy Spirit that effects earth with the breath of the kingdom of heaven. The Spirit of Prayer is not patriotism as in an allegiance to something or a fan of some institution, but a living relationship with the heart of the Father. Someone might have school spirit, or, have spirit for something or some place; however, the Spirit of Prayer is based on personal relationship with God Himself. Those in the Upper Room of Acts 2 caught the Spirit of Prayer when they received a Baptism of Fire in the Holy Spirit. The 120 people caught an insight to the Father’s heart that teaching could not orchestrate, but a gift from God could deposit. They willingly laid down their personal desires and took on God’s passions. Jesus and those receiving the upper room outpouring were an unmistakable revelation of the restoration of Divine authority. Carrying His Spirit makes impact in both the individual and in the lives of a culture. Jesus carried the Spirit of Prayer for the redemption of a generation. The early church believers were baptized in God’s Spirit gift, and displayed heaven touching and earth changing awareness. The Spirit of Prayer increases attentiveness to what God cares about before personal needs or concerns.
This is the generation that will usher in the Coming of the Lord!!!
Kevin Peterson
Refining Fire Ministry
Red Oak, TX.
When and where is your upper room?
Prayer has always been a big part of my life. Over the past 15-20 years I have woken up without an alarm clock at 5am every morning. I sit in my same chair and without music, devotionals, or anything but the Bible to guide me, I simply start talking to my best friend. As the years have gone by I have grown accustomed to the voice I hear early in the morning. I know when my best friend is talking. During the day when I have to make a decision, that same early morning voice begins to speak. As I am speaking with people, preaching, teaching in a classroom or talking with family and friends, I will get a thought or a word that fits for the topic from that early morning voice. The atmosphere and feeling of confidence I encounter in those early mornings are unforgettable. During high levels of stress, or decisions on direction for my life, family, and ministry, there have been many occasions when that same early morning atmosphere and confidence enters the room and enters me and I know the decisions and direction I am making and going at that moment are correct.
If I didn’t have those early mornings or at least some extended time to talk with my best friend, I would not know his voice, presence or confidence. I would not realize that he is giving me specific thoughts and words for conversations and messages while I speak them. I would not understand or know the rush of confidence and peace that sometimes enters a room when the stress and chaos of the day and ministry have overwhelmed even the best and brightest. Sometimes people will ask where did you come up with that idea, or how can you stay so calm, how did you know what to say. I simply tell them I spend time every morning with my best friend so I know when he speaks during the day. They ask who is your best friend. Jesus.
Without prayer we cannot know the presence and voice of our best friend. Where is your upper room and how long has it been since you have spent extended amount of time there growing accustom to his voice and presence so you know it when he speaks and enters the room during the day.
Pastor J. Calaway
InnerMission/Hammond First Assembly
Hammond, IN
Prayer has always been a big part of my life. Over the past 15-20 years I have woken up without an alarm clock at 5am every morning. I sit in my same chair and without music, devotionals, or anything but the Bible to guide me, I simply start talking to my best friend. As the years have gone by I have grown accustomed to the voice I hear early in the morning. I know when my best friend is talking. During the day when I have to make a decision, that same early morning voice begins to speak. As I am speaking with people, preaching, teaching in a classroom or talking with family and friends, I will get a thought or a word that fits for the topic from that early morning voice. The atmosphere and feeling of confidence I encounter in those early mornings are unforgettable. During high levels of stress, or decisions on direction for my life, family, and ministry, there have been many occasions when that same early morning atmosphere and confidence enters the room and enters me and I know the decisions and direction I am making and going at that moment are correct.
If I didn’t have those early mornings or at least some extended time to talk with my best friend, I would not know his voice, presence or confidence. I would not realize that he is giving me specific thoughts and words for conversations and messages while I speak them. I would not understand or know the rush of confidence and peace that sometimes enters a room when the stress and chaos of the day and ministry have overwhelmed even the best and brightest. Sometimes people will ask where did you come up with that idea, or how can you stay so calm, how did you know what to say. I simply tell them I spend time every morning with my best friend so I know when he speaks during the day. They ask who is your best friend. Jesus.
Without prayer we cannot know the presence and voice of our best friend. Where is your upper room and how long has it been since you have spent extended amount of time there growing accustom to his voice and presence so you know it when he speaks and enters the room during the day.
Pastor J. Calaway
InnerMission/Hammond First Assembly
Hammond, IN
On the first Sunday of February, 2010 Pastor Andre ministered at our church - Lufkin First Assembly - concerning the Spirit of Prayer. The Holy Spirit had begun to stir him with the importance and vital nature of calling pastors and churches to prayer for a move of the Spirit in America and in churches across the country. Under a powerful anointing Pastor Andre shared the burden that God was placing on him. It became obvious that this was not a mere exhortation to pray but a specific, timely, call from God to stir the church to seek God now. Through his sermon that morning I believe Andre released something supernatural and significant from the Spirit of God to our church. The atmosphere tangibly changed from that weekend onward.
Since that weekend the Spirit of Prayer has arisen in the church and the level of prayer has gone higher and higher. A new hunger for God has come as well as a hunger to pray for revival. I sensed that God was leading me to call the church to specific times of prayer for a supernatural move of God. The Sunday before the beginning of June, I cast the vision for what I termed "122 Prayer." I asked the church to join me for the next 122 days (June, July, August, and September) in praying a very specific prayer four times every day. At 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. our church stops and prays for one minute. The prayer consists of asking God for a "supernatural move of God" in the church. A one minute prayer four times per day may not seem like a lot of prayer until you see that hundreds of people are praying that prayer!
Matthew18:19, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by MyFather in heaven."
I sense that God has stirred Pastor Andre to call pastors to prayer because He plans to do something great in America and in churches across the country. It must start in Prayer! If God's people will pray God will move. The reason for the specific prayer I prescribed is simple. We have had enough of what man can do. We can have church these days without God's help. We have the programs and processes to create even greater programs and processes. However what we lack is a supernatural touch from God. I believe the Spirit of Prayer is a special unction from the Holy Spirit to pray for what God desires.
I encourage every pastor to attend the special time of prayer in Dallas in August. This is a divine appointment that I do not want to miss.
Pastor Andy Salagaj
Lufkin First Assembly
Lufkin, TX
Since that weekend the Spirit of Prayer has arisen in the church and the level of prayer has gone higher and higher. A new hunger for God has come as well as a hunger to pray for revival. I sensed that God was leading me to call the church to specific times of prayer for a supernatural move of God. The Sunday before the beginning of June, I cast the vision for what I termed "122 Prayer." I asked the church to join me for the next 122 days (June, July, August, and September) in praying a very specific prayer four times every day. At 8 a.m., noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. our church stops and prays for one minute. The prayer consists of asking God for a "supernatural move of God" in the church. A one minute prayer four times per day may not seem like a lot of prayer until you see that hundreds of people are praying that prayer!
Matthew18:19, “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by MyFather in heaven."
I sense that God has stirred Pastor Andre to call pastors to prayer because He plans to do something great in America and in churches across the country. It must start in Prayer! If God's people will pray God will move. The reason for the specific prayer I prescribed is simple. We have had enough of what man can do. We can have church these days without God's help. We have the programs and processes to create even greater programs and processes. However what we lack is a supernatural touch from God. I believe the Spirit of Prayer is a special unction from the Holy Spirit to pray for what God desires.
I encourage every pastor to attend the special time of prayer in Dallas in August. This is a divine appointment that I do not want to miss.
Pastor Andy Salagaj
Lufkin First Assembly
Lufkin, TX
Picture the scene of Jesus walking into the temple square, a place established to be a place of worship and prayer - a place to meet with their GOD -and Jesus seeing everything else going on, but worship and prayer. The house of God was no longer about God, but a marketplace for people to meet with each other and no longer meet with their God. It says that He walked over to a table where sacrifices were being sold by moneychangers to people to purchase and offer to the Lord to cover their sins. The scene was so obscene to Him that it so provoked Jesus to anger that He begins violently turning over the tables sending money and birds flying. He, with an elevated and frustrated voice cries to the people within the temple arena, “My Father House shall be a House of Prayer, not a den of thieves!”
Every time I walk into a church I think about church and why it was established, I am reminded of the very reason of it’s existence is far more than to just simply fellowship with one another, but to fellowship with Him. We have turned the house of God into everything else other than a house of prayer. We have small groups that are teaching people how to build relationships with others. We have men and women’s ministries, youth groups, children’s ministries, college ministries, and senior’s ministries that are bursting at the seams, but prayer meetings are empty. We travel for miles to attend leadership conferences – being trained how to run our churches as successful businesses - in sold out venues. But….. we call a prayer meeting and only faithful few attend! The Bible tells us that in the end days that even the very elect will be lead astray. How will that be? Simply by our hearts our gripped by everything else but Him! The average Senior Pastor across America spends 10 minutes in secret devotional prayer and the average altar call within churches that still have altar calls last only 10 minutes. Why??? I have found out that the altars cannot exceed the prayer life of the pastor. Jesus said, “My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer”, don’t you think the people that live in this house should be praying people. Prayer is one of the most talked about subjects, but the least practiced. Paul writes to Corinth and says, “the kingdom of God is not a matter talk, but of power”. He then writes Timothy and says a day is coming when “we will have a form of godliness, but denying the power there of”. Where is the power of God? We go through all the motions, but no healings, no signs, no wonders, no power. No power is directly linked to NO PRAYER.
This is shifting though. I believe that God through His Spirit is calling us to rebuild the altars and pray. This is what excites me about the “Return to the Upper Room”. He is calling men and women to reestablish personal prayer and then to call our churches back to the altar to seek Him. The Lord said, “if we humble ourselves and pray, seek, and repent, then He will hear, forgive, and heal our land.” He said if you will, then I will. It is time to do our part, so that God is released to do His part. “The hands of God are changed by the prayerlessness of His people”. What if His people return to Him in desperate prayers? What if a Bartimeaus cry is heard from His people, that cannot be silenced, stopped, and or quieted? Maybe our sight will be restored and our nation will see our God move once again. Remember, we are not waiting on God. He is waiting on us!!!!
IT IS TIME TO PRAY!!!!
Pastor Jayme Montera
Every time I walk into a church I think about church and why it was established, I am reminded of the very reason of it’s existence is far more than to just simply fellowship with one another, but to fellowship with Him. We have turned the house of God into everything else other than a house of prayer. We have small groups that are teaching people how to build relationships with others. We have men and women’s ministries, youth groups, children’s ministries, college ministries, and senior’s ministries that are bursting at the seams, but prayer meetings are empty. We travel for miles to attend leadership conferences – being trained how to run our churches as successful businesses - in sold out venues. But….. we call a prayer meeting and only faithful few attend! The Bible tells us that in the end days that even the very elect will be lead astray. How will that be? Simply by our hearts our gripped by everything else but Him! The average Senior Pastor across America spends 10 minutes in secret devotional prayer and the average altar call within churches that still have altar calls last only 10 minutes. Why??? I have found out that the altars cannot exceed the prayer life of the pastor. Jesus said, “My Father’s house shall be a house of prayer”, don’t you think the people that live in this house should be praying people. Prayer is one of the most talked about subjects, but the least practiced. Paul writes to Corinth and says, “the kingdom of God is not a matter talk, but of power”. He then writes Timothy and says a day is coming when “we will have a form of godliness, but denying the power there of”. Where is the power of God? We go through all the motions, but no healings, no signs, no wonders, no power. No power is directly linked to NO PRAYER.
This is shifting though. I believe that God through His Spirit is calling us to rebuild the altars and pray. This is what excites me about the “Return to the Upper Room”. He is calling men and women to reestablish personal prayer and then to call our churches back to the altar to seek Him. The Lord said, “if we humble ourselves and pray, seek, and repent, then He will hear, forgive, and heal our land.” He said if you will, then I will. It is time to do our part, so that God is released to do His part. “The hands of God are changed by the prayerlessness of His people”. What if His people return to Him in desperate prayers? What if a Bartimeaus cry is heard from His people, that cannot be silenced, stopped, and or quieted? Maybe our sight will be restored and our nation will see our God move once again. Remember, we are not waiting on God. He is waiting on us!!!!
IT IS TIME TO PRAY!!!!
Pastor Jayme Montera
THIRD DAY REVOLUTION
I believe the Lord has shown me that we have entered the “Third Day” spoken of by Hosea the Prophet.
(Hosea 6:2) The verse clearly states that “after two days He will revive us, and in the third day He will
raise us up.” This is a futuristic prophecy concerning the times of the end. While I believe it relates to
Israel, I also know that it has prophetic implication for the Church.
Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 refer to a thousand years as being a day with the Lord and a day as a
thousand years. The fact is, we have lived through two days of human history since the birth of Christ. We have now entered the Third Day or third millennial of time since Christ.
There will be a “Third Day Revolution” before the King arrives! A revolution is an uprising resulting in the overthrow of an established government by the people being governed. It is a radical pervasive change in society and in the social structure often accompanied by violence. Mt 11:12 says …the Kingdom of God suffers violence but the violent take it by force.” I believe that the force here is the Spirit of Prayer!
The Holy Spirit revealed to me that everything that Jesus did had a deeper prophetic meaning
concerning the Kingdom. He showed me that anything Jesus did that involved the number three was a prophetic revelation concerning the Third Day Revolution!
An example of such prophetic revelation is noted in the New Testament when Jesus on three occasions says or refers to the Destruction of this Temple and states the fact that in THREE DAYS He will raise it up. The first of these statements occurred in John 2 when Jesus cleansed the Temple and rebuked those in the Temple for turning His Father’s house into a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer. Yes, He was referring to His body! Yes, He was referring to a literal physical Temple! But, I believe He was also referring to the fact that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is the invisible and yet supernaturally powerful presence of the Spirit of Prayer within us.
This is the hour in which Christ is raising up a revolutionary guard of men and women across the
Kingdom to dismantle principalities and powers, rulers of darkness of this present world and spiritual wickedness in high places. These are those who have pulled away from the publicity of religious activity and have refused to become a part of prostituting the anointing. These are those who are willing to remain obscure from the limelight and become consumed by the shadow of His Glory! There is a Third Day Revolution that is and will increasingly continue to sweep the globe. It is not made up of Spiritual Giants but rather those who carry the anointing of David. Those who will risk their very life to reject yesterday’s anointing carried by Saul to carry today’s anointing that smells of sheep! An anointing that was birthed in the isolated hills and caves of intimacy with the Great Shepherd!
This Third Day Revolution is indeed the Spirit of Prayer!
Dwain Miller
Senior Pastor
Cross Life Church
El Dorado, Arkansas
I believe the Lord has shown me that we have entered the “Third Day” spoken of by Hosea the Prophet.
(Hosea 6:2) The verse clearly states that “after two days He will revive us, and in the third day He will
raise us up.” This is a futuristic prophecy concerning the times of the end. While I believe it relates to
Israel, I also know that it has prophetic implication for the Church.
Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 refer to a thousand years as being a day with the Lord and a day as a
thousand years. The fact is, we have lived through two days of human history since the birth of Christ. We have now entered the Third Day or third millennial of time since Christ.
There will be a “Third Day Revolution” before the King arrives! A revolution is an uprising resulting in the overthrow of an established government by the people being governed. It is a radical pervasive change in society and in the social structure often accompanied by violence. Mt 11:12 says …the Kingdom of God suffers violence but the violent take it by force.” I believe that the force here is the Spirit of Prayer!
The Holy Spirit revealed to me that everything that Jesus did had a deeper prophetic meaning
concerning the Kingdom. He showed me that anything Jesus did that involved the number three was a prophetic revelation concerning the Third Day Revolution!
An example of such prophetic revelation is noted in the New Testament when Jesus on three occasions says or refers to the Destruction of this Temple and states the fact that in THREE DAYS He will raise it up. The first of these statements occurred in John 2 when Jesus cleansed the Temple and rebuked those in the Temple for turning His Father’s house into a den of thieves rather than a house of prayer. Yes, He was referring to His body! Yes, He was referring to a literal physical Temple! But, I believe He was also referring to the fact that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. This is the invisible and yet supernaturally powerful presence of the Spirit of Prayer within us.
This is the hour in which Christ is raising up a revolutionary guard of men and women across the
Kingdom to dismantle principalities and powers, rulers of darkness of this present world and spiritual wickedness in high places. These are those who have pulled away from the publicity of religious activity and have refused to become a part of prostituting the anointing. These are those who are willing to remain obscure from the limelight and become consumed by the shadow of His Glory! There is a Third Day Revolution that is and will increasingly continue to sweep the globe. It is not made up of Spiritual Giants but rather those who carry the anointing of David. Those who will risk their very life to reject yesterday’s anointing carried by Saul to carry today’s anointing that smells of sheep! An anointing that was birthed in the isolated hills and caves of intimacy with the Great Shepherd!
This Third Day Revolution is indeed the Spirit of Prayer!
Dwain Miller
Senior Pastor
Cross Life Church
El Dorado, Arkansas
Before we can be catapulted forward, we have to first be pulled back!
Every effective movement, denomination, religious organization or local church had its origin as a result of some kind of spiritual STIR. Something caused its birth – it may have been a revelation, a vision, a tent crusade, a revival, a home fellowship group, or even a godly dream. The Holy Spirit stirred someone and something divine was birthed.
This stir always requires people to become involved, and as a result a STRUCTURE is developed to efficiently organize people. Many times, if not most of the times, churches and other religious organizations put all their energies and resources into maintaining the structure which then leads them to inevitable STAGNATION.
When stagnation sets in, leaders usually address the instance that is closest to them – in this case, structure. They then try emphatically to change the structure and adding new programs, ideas, ministries, or even personnel – but to no avail. Changing the structure will not of necessity allow us to move forward from stagnation to momentum. We need to get back to the STIR.
That’s why Back to the Upper Room is an absolute prerequisite for us to be able to find new, spiritual, dynamic forward movement. We have to hear from God again. We must have an apostolic revelation. We must get back to the One who caused the STIR and receive our marching orders for the future from HIM! Don’t miss this historic moment in the history of the Church in America.
Pastor John Bosman
SpiritWind International
Every effective movement, denomination, religious organization or local church had its origin as a result of some kind of spiritual STIR. Something caused its birth – it may have been a revelation, a vision, a tent crusade, a revival, a home fellowship group, or even a godly dream. The Holy Spirit stirred someone and something divine was birthed.
This stir always requires people to become involved, and as a result a STRUCTURE is developed to efficiently organize people. Many times, if not most of the times, churches and other religious organizations put all their energies and resources into maintaining the structure which then leads them to inevitable STAGNATION.
When stagnation sets in, leaders usually address the instance that is closest to them – in this case, structure. They then try emphatically to change the structure and adding new programs, ideas, ministries, or even personnel – but to no avail. Changing the structure will not of necessity allow us to move forward from stagnation to momentum. We need to get back to the STIR.
That’s why Back to the Upper Room is an absolute prerequisite for us to be able to find new, spiritual, dynamic forward movement. We have to hear from God again. We must have an apostolic revelation. We must get back to the One who caused the STIR and receive our marching orders for the future from HIM! Don’t miss this historic moment in the history of the Church in America.
Pastor John Bosman
SpiritWind International
After experiencing the wonderful unity and harmony brought to South Africa by the 2010 Soccer World Cup , and how South Africans united in the light of their past, to ensure a great success, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the Day of Pentecost when the disciples of Jesus were all assembled “with one accord in one place”, the upper room. We are all aware of the impact that day’s events are having on our lives and more specific, on our ministries.
Cape Town psychologist, Helgo Schomer, states that: “Humans are social animals. Humans amongst humans are the happiest people around. We forget about our worries. Nothing like such a gathering of people alleviates worry about the mundane”. This immediately made me ponder about Pastor André van Zyl’s invite, “Back to the Upper Room”. Just imagine how much more this united stand in prayer will bring the hand of God into movement in this beautiful world of ours, in all its diversity.
Jesus himself teaches us in the book of Matthew, that “when two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure I’ll be there” (Message Bible).
Imagine; ME - GOD - and HIS PEOPLE. No noise, no rat-racing, no e-mails, no cell phones, no voicemails, no TV, no internet, no radio. Just ME - GOD - and HIS PEOPLE. What excitement for God. What generation of empowerment for Man. Then the Holy Spirit comes and ministers to this gathering of diverse people, unified in one body, but still ministered to as unique individuals. It is with expectancy that I await the outcome and influence of the gathering of church leaders in the Upper Room.
Pastor Christo Visser
Waterfall Assembly
Rustenburg, South Africa
Cape Town psychologist, Helgo Schomer, states that: “Humans are social animals. Humans amongst humans are the happiest people around. We forget about our worries. Nothing like such a gathering of people alleviates worry about the mundane”. This immediately made me ponder about Pastor André van Zyl’s invite, “Back to the Upper Room”. Just imagine how much more this united stand in prayer will bring the hand of God into movement in this beautiful world of ours, in all its diversity.
Jesus himself teaches us in the book of Matthew, that “when two of you get together on anything at all on earth and make a prayer of it, my Father in heaven goes into action. And when two or three of you are together because of me, you can be sure I’ll be there” (Message Bible).
Imagine; ME - GOD - and HIS PEOPLE. No noise, no rat-racing, no e-mails, no cell phones, no voicemails, no TV, no internet, no radio. Just ME - GOD - and HIS PEOPLE. What excitement for God. What generation of empowerment for Man. Then the Holy Spirit comes and ministers to this gathering of diverse people, unified in one body, but still ministered to as unique individuals. It is with expectancy that I await the outcome and influence of the gathering of church leaders in the Upper Room.
Pastor Christo Visser
Waterfall Assembly
Rustenburg, South Africa
Living in Christ victory is the only way to really live, anything else is merely existing!
Great Kingdom breakthroughs and revivals throughout the centuries have followed a similar pattern. This pattern is also visible in the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Acts church in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. The disciples obeyed Christ's command not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. "The Baptism with fire and the Holy Spirit." This is what the church of Christ so dearly need today, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and Fire!
So they went up to "Upper Room" to spend time with one another and wait upon the Promise. Then on the 50th day the day of Pentecost, there suddenly came a sound from heaven, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. When they moved out from the Upper Room and began to speak of Christ filled with the power the church was born and three thousand people came to the Lord in one day.
Here is the pattern ten:
Wait for the Holy Spirit power.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Once and only when you have it move to the marketplace.
Here's our trouble, those churches and ministries that are waiting, receiving and experiencing the power and filling of the Holy Spirit seems to remain in the Upper Room and never dare to take the move into the marketplace. Those churches and ministries that move into the marketplace regularly move without waiting and receiving the necessary power to see a great revival.
In the modern day mission movements it is also evident that most of the significant moves were preceded by a group of people that took the time to wait for the promise. Today we are hearing this worldwide call once again. Go back to the Upper Room and wait. I stood in that room 15 years ago in Jerusalem and absorbed the atmosphere of expectancy. We must return to a place of expectancy, and dare not move into the marketplace without the power that we can receive in the Upper Room. Thank you Andre and GNN for being part of the faithful remnant, who will return to the Upper Room; only to return to the marketplace full of His power to once again return to the marketplaces in this world that so dearly need Christ.
Dr. Louis Blom
CEO Judea Harvest
Great Kingdom breakthroughs and revivals throughout the centuries have followed a similar pattern. This pattern is also visible in the first outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Acts church in Jerusalem two thousand years ago. The disciples obeyed Christ's command not to depart from Jerusalem but to wait for the promise of the Father. "The Baptism with fire and the Holy Spirit." This is what the church of Christ so dearly need today, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit and Fire!
So they went up to "Upper Room" to spend time with one another and wait upon the Promise. Then on the 50th day the day of Pentecost, there suddenly came a sound from heaven, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit. When they moved out from the Upper Room and began to speak of Christ filled with the power the church was born and three thousand people came to the Lord in one day.
Here is the pattern ten:
Wait for the Holy Spirit power.
Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Once and only when you have it move to the marketplace.
Here's our trouble, those churches and ministries that are waiting, receiving and experiencing the power and filling of the Holy Spirit seems to remain in the Upper Room and never dare to take the move into the marketplace. Those churches and ministries that move into the marketplace regularly move without waiting and receiving the necessary power to see a great revival.
In the modern day mission movements it is also evident that most of the significant moves were preceded by a group of people that took the time to wait for the promise. Today we are hearing this worldwide call once again. Go back to the Upper Room and wait. I stood in that room 15 years ago in Jerusalem and absorbed the atmosphere of expectancy. We must return to a place of expectancy, and dare not move into the marketplace without the power that we can receive in the Upper Room. Thank you Andre and GNN for being part of the faithful remnant, who will return to the Upper Room; only to return to the marketplace full of His power to once again return to the marketplaces in this world that so dearly need Christ.
Dr. Louis Blom
CEO Judea Harvest
God’s purpose with prayer has always been man’s communication with God the Almighty. To me, prayer is to ask God for a heart of compassion for all the people on earth, because the whole earth and all its inhabitants belong to Him. In Matthew 5 we read about the Beatitudes. Each of them tells us how to be fortunate and happy. Jesus turns the world’s idea of happiness upside down. To Him happiness means hope and joy, independent of outward circumstances. To find hope and joy, the deepest form of happiness, you need to get closer to God by serving and obeying him, and this can only be done by prayer. If we really want to serve God, we must be ready to say, and do what seems strange to the world. We must be willing to give, when others take, to love when others hate, to help when others abuse.
In the Bible we read, that the events in the Upper Room, lead to much more than just a single experience. It creates a type of compassion for people which bears exceptional fruit. They developed a concern for one another, a readiness to help one another as the occasion arose, were loving to one another, and became very generous in the use of what they had. It made them open-hearted, open-handed, and enlarged their hearts with holy joy and hope. This was compassion for people, at its very best. All because of an encounter with God in the Upper Room. .
In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us how to pray. In the Life Application Bible we read: “We ask (communication) that your kingdom will COME NOW. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.” In this we are praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as in the next. So my prayer is: Lord, give us a heart of compassion so that we can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6) and fulfill the plan of God for ou lives.
Joy Visser
Waterfall Assembly
Rustenburg, South Africa
In the Bible we read, that the events in the Upper Room, lead to much more than just a single experience. It creates a type of compassion for people which bears exceptional fruit. They developed a concern for one another, a readiness to help one another as the occasion arose, were loving to one another, and became very generous in the use of what they had. It made them open-hearted, open-handed, and enlarged their hearts with holy joy and hope. This was compassion for people, at its very best. All because of an encounter with God in the Upper Room. .
In Matthew 6, Jesus teaches us how to pray. In the Life Application Bible we read: “We ask (communication) that your kingdom will COME NOW. May your will be done here on earth, just as it is in heaven.” In this we are praying that God’s perfect purpose will be accomplished in this world as well as in the next. So my prayer is: Lord, give us a heart of compassion so that we can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6) and fulfill the plan of God for ou lives.
Joy Visser
Waterfall Assembly
Rustenburg, South Africa
When the Disciples were gathered in the Upper Room, “they were all with one accord in one place“ Acts 2:1. The Bible implies that they were ALL there. But were they really ALL there? There were, after all, at least 500 people who had seen the Risen Lord but only 120 had gathered in the Upper Room to seek Him.
The principle here is that when “the rubber meets the road”, God ultimately ONLY countsthose who choose to put seek His Face above other things. We are a group of people who hunger for more. We are passionate; We want Him, His Presence; We want Revival, we want Fire! So thank you Andre for taking this initiative to bring us all together! I am writing these lines from Africa. Here we are seeing huge multitudes come to Jesus, tens of thousands at a time receiving the precious Baptism with the Holy Ghost and with Fire, the lame walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing and the dead being raised up. It is like we are living in a crucible of Fire.
But How and Why?
The reason is that Christianity is preached and believed here in it’s simplest form. Everything somehow revolves around the Person, the Cross, the Blood and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
Now that is the kind of Gospel that God answers with Fire!
That, my brothers is what we want to come back to. That it what it means to come “Back to the Upper Room”. Back to Jesus! Back to the Cross! Back to the Blood! Back to His Resurrection! Back to our First Love! Back to Pentecost!
It is in our living, breathing, moving and preaching within this paradigm of Faith, of Jesus, that we find that whichwe are thirsting and longing for.
As the Apostle Paul said, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Col 1:17-19)
And then “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”. (Col 2:8-10).
Jesus, not merely prominent, but Pre-eminent in all things. In Him is found the Fullness of God. It is in Him that we are complete. Like in the days of old; when He speaks, that is when our hearts are on Fire within us!
So when we gather together in Dallas, let us do so to seek His Face. And I know that we shall meet with Him.
Finally, I am reminded of the beautiful words of Psalm 133
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore”.
The Psalmist says that it pleases God when we as brothers gather together in Unity. That is when God pours out of His Anointing Oil; and the Anointing that is upon Jesus, who is our Head, flows down from Him down upon all of us.
And that is when God “Commands” His Blessings upon us. That is what I want for my life. I desire that His Anointing comes upon us and that instead of us seeking His Blessings, He of His own points His finger at us Commands His Blessings upon us!
That is why when I coming back home to the US, I shall immediately afterwards fly out to Dallas for our Upper room gathering. I want to seek the Face of God together with my brothers who are as hungry as I am. And when we seek His Face, we will be touched by his Hand!
“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out”. Leviticus 6:13
Pastor Christopher Alam
Dynamis World Ministries
Lancaster, PA
The principle here is that when “the rubber meets the road”, God ultimately ONLY countsthose who choose to put seek His Face above other things. We are a group of people who hunger for more. We are passionate; We want Him, His Presence; We want Revival, we want Fire! So thank you Andre for taking this initiative to bring us all together! I am writing these lines from Africa. Here we are seeing huge multitudes come to Jesus, tens of thousands at a time receiving the precious Baptism with the Holy Ghost and with Fire, the lame walking, the blind seeing, the deaf hearing and the dead being raised up. It is like we are living in a crucible of Fire.
But How and Why?
The reason is that Christianity is preached and believed here in it’s simplest form. Everything somehow revolves around the Person, the Cross, the Blood and the Resurrection of our Lord Jesus.
Now that is the kind of Gospel that God answers with Fire!
That, my brothers is what we want to come back to. That it what it means to come “Back to the Upper Room”. Back to Jesus! Back to the Cross! Back to the Blood! Back to His Resurrection! Back to our First Love! Back to Pentecost!
It is in our living, breathing, moving and preaching within this paradigm of Faith, of Jesus, that we find that whichwe are thirsting and longing for.
As the Apostle Paul said, “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell” (Col 1:17-19)
And then “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”. (Col 2:8-10).
Jesus, not merely prominent, but Pre-eminent in all things. In Him is found the Fullness of God. It is in Him that we are complete. Like in the days of old; when He speaks, that is when our hearts are on Fire within us!
So when we gather together in Dallas, let us do so to seek His Face. And I know that we shall meet with Him.
Finally, I am reminded of the beautiful words of Psalm 133
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore”.
The Psalmist says that it pleases God when we as brothers gather together in Unity. That is when God pours out of His Anointing Oil; and the Anointing that is upon Jesus, who is our Head, flows down from Him down upon all of us.
And that is when God “Commands” His Blessings upon us. That is what I want for my life. I desire that His Anointing comes upon us and that instead of us seeking His Blessings, He of His own points His finger at us Commands His Blessings upon us!
That is why when I coming back home to the US, I shall immediately afterwards fly out to Dallas for our Upper room gathering. I want to seek the Face of God together with my brothers who are as hungry as I am. And when we seek His Face, we will be touched by his Hand!
“The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out”. Leviticus 6:13
Pastor Christopher Alam
Dynamis World Ministries
Lancaster, PA