Christians Unite in Over 165 Global Upper Room Prayer Gatherings

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Thousands of churches in over 165 cities in 36 countries across six continents have signed up to participate in an organized, global prayer gathering called “10 Days” to demonstrate the answer to Jesus Christ’s prayer in John 17 for a unified church.

Partnering together in unity to seek God’s face for 10 straight days of Spirit-led prayer, the 10 Day 2022 prayer gatherings will begin on the Day of Trumpets (Sept. 25) and conclude on the Day of Atonement (Oct. 5).

These gatherings will range from city-wide prayer meetings—with many local churches uniting—to small groups of believers devoting themselves to spend a season in prayer and fasting. People without a gathering near them can also participate through Zoom in a global gathering that will be live 24 hours a day throughout the 10 days.

The idea for these 10 Days prayer gatherings was born out of a vision of cities covered in the glory of God, as well as a revelation of an answer to Jesus’ prayer, as stated in the Gospel of John.

“I had an encounter with the Lord when I was in college, and He showed me cities around the world stopping during this time period between the Day of Trumpets and the Day of Atonement and just fasting and praying and seeking God,” says Jonathan Friz, the founder of 10 Days.

“The cities I saw in the vision were covered in the glory of God. I knew it would never be the same. It has driven everything I have done in the prayer movement for the past two decades,” he adds.

He was in the midst of 21 days of prayer and fasting when he received this prophetic vision in 2004. Friz has been one of the top prayer leaders in New England for years. His love for the Lord led him to make a life-changing commitment to prayer.

“John 17 had exploded for me, ‘Let them be one as we are one.’ I had this revelation that Jesus was going to get what He prayed for that the church would be one. I asked the Lord how I can be part of Jesus getting the answer to His prayer.”

Today, Friz is calling the body of Christ to engage in extraordinary prayer. The darkness of the world in which good is now called ‘evil’ and evil is now called ‘good’ is causing the need to pray as the corporate body to surge.

“If we are dealing with problems that we cannot solve, we need to go to prayer and ask the Lord. We are understanding that we are dealing with intractable problems that only God has the answer to, and it’s causing us to turn to extraordinary prayer,” says Friz.

“There is a sense of weightiness about the days we’re living in, and we need to be watching and praying to the Lord.”

This prayer leader also asserts that there is a rapidly increasing hunger for unity among Christians.

“People read Jesus’ prayer in John 17 and ask, ‘We’re supposed to be one. How do we get there?’ If we pray together, that may be the best tool in our toolbox to see love for each other grow and to see unity increase across ethnic, racial and denominational lines,” says Friz.

Groups decide to join 10 Days for different reasons, but all of them are united in their hunger for more of God’s presence in their lives and communities, and their conviction that God’s presence changes everything. The 10 Days events start with repentance. Other major themes include the fulfillment of the Great Commission, Israel’s salvation and the Lord’s return.

“The driving passion of the movement is seeing the global church become the pure and spotless bride spoken of in Scripture, ready for the Lord’s return,” says Friz.

Over the last several years, the organizers of 10 Days have seen exponential increase in participation in these 10 Days events around the globe, now in its 18th year. The ministry now provides support in multiple languages, including Spanish, Italian, French and German.

“We’re seeing an explosion of prayer in persecuted countries across the Middle East, North Africa, Asia and other places really experiencing persecution,” says Friz.

He points out that “a regular rhythm of prayer” is how God has chosen to birth sustaining revivals.

A Prayer Guide and additional resources to support participation in 10 Days of prayer are available on www.10days.net. {eoa}

Anthony Hart is a freelance writer for Charisma News.