Today I want us to see...

... what we can learn from Daniel going to the upper room to pray. Daniel 6:10 (NLT) ^“But when Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upstairs room, with its windows open toward Jerusalem. He prayed three times a day, just as he had always done, giving thanks to his God.” He didn’t just pray when he had a bad day; he prayed every day. He didn’t just pray 911 prayers when he was facing the lion’s den, prayer was a vital part of the rhythm and routine of his life. 

Prayer was his life and his life was prayer. What about us? Are we just crisis Christians who only pray when opposition comes our way or do we pray today “just as we have always done”?  

I would be very unfair to leave out here that Daniel knew there was the potential for him to die if he continued to pray during this 30-day period. Remember the three Hebrew young men…Our God can deliver us but even if He doesn’t, we won’t bow down. When Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went home and knelt down as usual in his upper room. If we are going to be world changers, we have to make the upper room a priority…Daniel made it to his upper room three times a day. Daniel impacted his world by making it to the upper room. The twelve disciples changed the world by making it to the upper room and being there on the day of Pentecost. Holy Spirit fell and they turned their world upside down for Jesus. Elijah saw the resurrection power of God in the upper room when the widow’s son was raised from the dead. Tabitha was raised from the dead in the upper room when Peter prayed for her.

Maybe the reason we are not seeing revival or seeing the healings we want to see is because we are not making it to the upper room enough. The upper room is where we experience Holy Spirit power! Listen to me today…if you want Holy Spirit power, you don’t need people pulling on you or pushing on you or spitting on you or telling you to hang on or turn lose…get to the upper room…Jesus will fill you! Daniel’s upper room experience was just a foreshadowing of Holy Spirit power coming to the church. The dead are raised, the sick are healed, and the mouths of lions are shut…Get to the upper room!