There is a real danger of giving the impression that those who ‘turned the world upside down’, in the 1st century, were all of the male gender. We are indebted to Luke, in ‘The Acts of the Apostles’, for giving us an insight into the considerable contribution made by spiritual women. The first one to be named by Luke is MARY, THE MOTHER OF JESUS, Acts chapter 1 verse 14, and she typifies the rest. We meet her in an UPPER ROOM in the city of Jerusalem, along with the disciples of Jesus. She is joining them, with other women, in PRAYER. She knows, probably better than all of them, how important prayer is if the work of Jesus is to continue and make an impact on the world. All the things that she had seen, heard and meditated on in her heart during the past 30+ years placed her in a unique position to enhance the atmosphere of that prayer meeting.

So many of our women-folk today enrich the spiritual atmosphere of our church gatherings by their presence! They teach us that our voices do not have to be heard above everyone else to be of value. I suspect that Mary spent many hours considering in her heart things concerning the Lord Jesus.

Christendom has been guilty down the years of placing Mary on a pedestal and giving her a position that she would never have craved. For her, everything was about her son, the Lord Jesus! She never sought pre-eminence. On one occasion, at a wedding, she said to the servants, ‘Whatever He says to you, do it’, John chapter 2 verse 5. Misguidedly, some Christians have made statues of her and worshipped her; however, it is important to note that she is never mentioned again after Acts chapter 1 in the Bible!

It is also lovely to note that there was real harmony in this Upper Room – ‘these all continued with one accord in prayer’, verse 14. It is as true today as it ever was: if, as Christians, we want to make an impact in the world, unity among us and prayer are essential ingredients!