Many of you may have seen that the church has two prayer walking opportunities in preparation for Easter services on Saturday, March 26 and Saturday, April 16. Prayer walking is one of my favorite ways to pray because it helps keep my mind focused on the Lord and what He is doing. My mind is prone to wander to grocery lists and what I need for the day or even dozing off to sleep. However, when prayer walking, my feet keep my mind grounded in prayer as I walk. There are many ways to prayer walk. I have done it silently and I have done it with a partner. Below I have included some collected material from Judy Haynes who also has some practical tips for prayer walking.
A Practical Guide to Prayer Walking
Compiled by Judy Haynes from various resources
What is prayer walking?
Simply stated, prayer walking is the act of praying whenever and wherever you go.
Romans 10:15 “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” You never know where the Holy Spirit might move or where someone has or hasn’t prayed on that spot before you.
What Can Prayer Do?
· Cause us to see as God sees
· Cause us to hear as God hears
· Cause us to feel like God feels
· Cause us to line up ourselves with what God wants
· Cause us to do what God wants
· Change people, fix problems, change circumstances
· Remove obstacles, open doors
· Dispatch God’s angels
· Cause God to send workers to do work that needs to be done
· Cause God to work miracles
How to prayer walk?
Pick a location. It can anywhere from your neighborhood to a foreign country…any street or road will do. You can prayer walk by yourself or with a friend. You can also prayer walk silently or out loud. If prayer walking in a group, you can split up into smaller groups of two or three. Also having a map of the area is helpful for your group to cover all areas.
What can I pray?
You can pray scripture as you pray or pray conversationally. The most important thing is to listen to the spirit’s leading. As you pray, look around for clues as to what to pray for. If you see playground equipment or bikes you can know there are children in that home. An unkempt yard or home may mean financial needs or a single parent home etc. What clues can you see to help you pray specifically?
What are some other ideas?
You can prayer drive. You can also pray over a stationary place such as a park or a school. You can look for a high point in a city and pray over the city from that point.
What are some obstacles to prayer walking?
Apathy, fear, awkwardness, lack of belief that prayer matters, the weather, busyness. Once you overcome these obstacles you may be pleasantly surprised at finding a new favorite way to pray.
What if someone asks us what we are doing?
This is great! Feel free to tell them we are praying, and you can ask them if they have any prayer requests. If we are at Belmont, you can tell them about our Easter services.
Other Scripture Ideas:
Prayers for the city: Proverbs 11:11 • Daniel 9:18-19 • Habakkuk 1:5
Prayers for people in the city: Psalm 23 • Psalm 139:23-24 • Psalm 25:4-5
Prayers for the Laborers: Matthew 9:35-38 • Romans 10:14-15 • Colossians 4:2-6
Prayers for families: Ephesians 5:22-25 • Ephesians 6:1-7 • Deuteronomy 5:29
I like to use scripture when I pray. My favorite verses to use are the Psalms, especially Psalm 119. I usually look on a Bible app on my phone or carry a small Bible. Another way Judy uses scripture is by putting them on notecards. If you have any questions or hesitations, feel free to ask me or come join us at Belmont. If you see me walking with some paper in my hand most likely I am prayer walking. You can catch me on my cul-de-sac praying for my neighbors and my family or perhaps around the church while I am praying for you. I believe God hears our prayers and when our hearts are in tune with him, we will see great things!
Learn more about Easter at Belmont here and scroll to the bottom to sign up to prayer walk.
