Acts 1:13

Letters to the Faithful - Acts 1:13

Berean Standard Bible

When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

King James Bible

And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

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To all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in faith and sincerity, to the beloved in every place who wait with hope for the promise of the Father, grace and peace be multiplied to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I write to you today as a fellow servant of the gospel and a witness to the truth that does not fade, to exhort and encourage your hearts in the unity of the Spirit and the expectancy of power from on high. Our meditation finds its origin in Acts 1:13, which declares: “When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Present were Peter, John, James, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.”

At first glance, this verse may seem to be a simple list of names, a record of those who remained in obedience after the Lord Jesus ascended into heaven. But let us not rush past it. For in this upper room we are shown something of unspeakable importance: the beginning of a posture, a pattern, and a people whom God would soon fill, empower, and send into the world. These names are not merely relics of the past; they are living stones in the foundation of the Church. And the room they entered is not merely a historical space, but a prophetic symbol of the place where waiting meets fulfillment, where obedience births outpouring.

These eleven men had just witnessed the risen Christ ascend into glory. They had heard with their own ears His command not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father. He did not say how long to wait. He did not say what hour the Spirit would fall. He only said to wait. And so they obeyed, returning not to their homes, not to the fields, not to the synagogues, but to the upper room—a place of prayer, of unity, of expectation.

This is where the Church was truly conceived—not in the streets of Pentecost, but in the stillness of the upper room. The fire that fell in Acts 2 was kindled by the obedience and agreement of Acts 1. Before power came, there was positioning. Before signs and wonders came, there was stillness and supplication. Before the multitudes were reached, the few had to wait. Herein lies a truth often overlooked in our day: the greatest move of God does not begin with the multitude, but with the remnant. It does not erupt from activity, but from obedience. It does not emerge from noise, but from agreement.

These men were flawed. They had failed their Lord. Peter had denied Him. Thomas had doubted Him. They had all scattered when the Shepherd was struck. Yet here they are, together again—not because of their perfection, but because of His mercy. Jesus had called them, forgiven them, restored them, and now He was preparing to clothe them with power from on high. And what did they do in response? They waited.

Let us consider what kind of waiting this was. It was not passive, not idle, not distracted. It was active waiting—waiting in unity, in prayer, in one accord. This is the kind of waiting that becomes a womb for revival. It is the posture of the upper room that invites the wind and the fire of the Spirit. It is the willingness to obey without clarity, to persevere without a timetable, to gather with others even when the promise seems delayed. This is the waiting that pleases God.

How we need this posture again in our time! We are so often eager to rush ahead, to produce results, to build platforms, to gather crowds. But God is looking for those who will wait—those who will return to the upper room, who will shut the door to the noise of the world and seek Him with one heart and one voice. We have many programs, many resources, many strategies—but do we have this kind of unity, this kind of expectancy, this kind of obedience?

Let us be honest: in many places the Church has become more about performance than presence, more about production than prayer, more about relevance than reverence. But the Spirit will not fill what is not yielded. The wind will not blow where there is no surrender. The fire will not fall on altars we have not rebuilt. The pattern remains the same: the disciples gathered, they waited, they prayed, they believed—and the heavens responded.

There is something else to see in this verse. These men did not separate according to opinion, background, or personality. There were fishermen and a tax collector, a Zealot and a doubter. Men who had argued over who was greatest now gathered in humility. Unity did not mean uniformity, but it did require surrender. They were not waiting for a personal visitation, but for a corporate outpouring. This is what the Spirit inhabits: a house where self has died, where pride is laid down, where the body gathers as one.

And so I urge you, Church of the living God: return to the upper room. Not a physical location, but a spiritual posture. Let your homes become upper rooms. Let your churches become sanctuaries of prayer again. Let your hearts become altars upon which the fire of God can fall. Gather with others not just for consumption, but for consecration. Pray not just for blessings, but for boldness. Wait not for convenience, but for commissioning.

The names in Acts 1:13 remind us that God uses the willing, not just the mighty. He fills the humble, not the hurried. He meets with the waiting, not the wandering. If we will take the posture of the upper room, we too shall see the promise fulfilled. We shall see the Spirit poured out, the gospel proclaimed, and the Church revived. But we must be willing to return—not to the comfort of routine, but to the fire of devotion.

And remember this: the upper room was not the end. It was the beginning. What happened in secret exploded in the open. What was birthed in prayer was released in power. And the same Spirit who filled that room now fills the hearts of those who believe. May He find in us a people as yielded, as unified, as hungry as they were. And may He do again in our day what He did in theirs—not because we deserve it, but because He is faithful to His Word.

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O Sovereign and Holy Father, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the One who raised our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in glory—hallowed be Your name in all the earth and exalted be Your dominion from everlasting to everlasting. We come before You, the Eternal One, with humble hearts and open spirits, meditating upon the solemn and sacred moment recorded in the Book of Acts, chapter 1, verse 13: “When they had entered the city, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.” O Lord, how rich is this brief verse in meaning, how weighty in significance, how holy in example.

Here we behold the apostles, gathered not in the glory of a public ministry, not in the fire of Pentecost yet to come, but in the quiet obedience of waiting. They returned to the city, to the upper room—not for comfort or rest, but in obedience to the word of their risen Lord, who had commanded them to wait in Jerusalem until they were clothed with power from on high. And so, Lord, we thank You for their obedience, for their unity, for their readiness to wait in hiddenness before being revealed in power. We thank You for showing us, through their gathering, that waiting in Your presence is not idleness, but the very soil in which You plant Your power.

Father, we see in their names the diversity of the men You called—fishermen, a tax collector, a zealot, brothers and strangers, doubters and deniers, the impulsive and the quiet. Yet all were gathered in one room, in one heart, in one Spirit. O God, teach us again to gather like this. Teach us to put aside our pride, our preferences, our positions, and our personalities, and to find unity in the command of Jesus. Let us not seek to move until You move. Let us not desire to speak until You fill our mouths. Let us be a people of the upper room again—a people marked not by platform or popularity, but by prayer, surrender, and the fear of the Lord.

O Lord, we confess that we are often restless in the waiting. We long for activity, for visibility, for accomplishment. But You call us first to the secret place. You summon us to stillness. You draw us into quietness before You entrust us with a voice. Forgive us, Father, for rushing past the upper room. Forgive us for desiring the outpouring without the posture of prayer. Forgive us for gathering in Your name but lacking agreement in spirit. Forgive us for building churches without building altars.

Today, Lord, we ask You to awaken in us the spirit of the upper room—to make us a people who are willing to be hidden until You reveal us, willing to be silent until You fill us, willing to be still until You empower us. Help us to gather in homes, in sanctuaries, in closets, in humble places, wherever two or three are willing to seek Your face with one accord. And as You looked upon those apostles who waited in Jerusalem, look upon us, O Lord, and find us waiting as well—not for comfort, but for commission; not for blessing, but for boldness; not for ease, but for the enduement of Your Spirit.

We pray for the Church in this generation—that we would rediscover the power of waiting in unity. Let us not substitute programs for prayer, or entertainment for intercession. Let us not chase influence when we have neglected intimacy. Let the upper room be restored in our midst, not as a memory of the past but as a living pattern for the present. Raise up leaders who are more concerned with obedience than results, more consumed with the Spirit than with success, more drawn to You than to the approval of men.

We pray especially for unity among Your people. The eleven apostles had every reason to be divided—they had failed, disappointed, and even betrayed each other. But You, O Christ, had risen and restored. You had breathed peace upon them, and they gathered not in rivalry but in reconciliation. O Lord, heal the divisions in Your Body today. Heal the rifts between denominations, generations, races, and nations. Let the unity of the upper room be the model for Your Church again—that we may be filled together, not just as individuals but as one body under one Head, Jesus Christ our Lord.

And Lord, we do not ask this only for our sake, but for the sake of the world. We know that what began in that upper room would soon flood the streets of Jerusalem and ripple to the ends of the earth. We know that the sound of prayer would soon give way to the sound of wind, fire, and proclamation. But let it begin with us. Let the preparation be complete. Let the foundation be firm. Let us be a people ready for the Holy Spirit—not just for His gifts, but for His governance. Not just for manifestations, but for sanctification. Not just for power, but for purity.

We thank You, Lord, that You do not despise small beginnings. You do not overlook small rooms. You choose the foolish to shame the wise, the weak to confound the strong, the hidden place to prepare for the public declaration. So make us like those eleven—gathered, humbled, expectant. Make our hearts the upper room where You are welcome. Make our churches the upper room where You dwell. And make our lives vessels ready to be filled for Your glory.

And when the time is fulfilled, as it was in Jerusalem, pour out Your Spirit again. Not for show, but for the salvation of many. Not for pride, but for proclamation. Not to impress, but to empower. And let Your Church arise from the upper room once more—not with gimmicks, but with gospel fire; not with self-promotion, but with Spirit-born power; not with human words, but with heaven-sent authority.

We await You, O Lord. We wait in faith. We wait in unity. We wait with surrendered hearts, in the name of the One who ascended and shall come again—Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, our risen Lord, our soon-coming King. Amen.