JimBob,
I heard you mention a "prayer walk" this coming Saturday (Nov. 13th). I'm interested, but don't really know what that means. What do you do during a prayer walk? What's the purpose?
Passionate about Prayer
Dear Passionate,
First, I'll tell you what it's NOT. A prayer walk is not where a group of people walk around a neighborhood praying loudly or knocking on doors. If you want a good laugh, check out this YouTube video we made a few years ago to demonstrate what a prayer walk is not (What Prayer Walking is NOT).
A prayer walk is pretty much what the name describes; a group of people getting together in a neighborhood and walking from house to house praying quietly for the people in that area. Typically, the group will meet at a central location in a neighborhood. This Saturday, we'll meet at the clubhouse/pool in the Fieldstone subdivision. Each of us will be given a map of the neighborhood divided into segments of 60+ homes. We'll also be given door hangers that let the family know they've been prayed for and how they can contact our prayer team if they need prayer for anything else. The group usually breaks up in twos; one taking one side of a street and the other on the other, and walk from house to house. No doorbells are wrung. Each walker spends about 20 seconds praying for each house as he leaves the door hanger and walks quietly away.
For me, there are three exciting aspects to prayer walking: 1) I'm always amazed at the different things God lays on my heart as I approach a house. Sometimes, I simply pray for the house to be blessed. Other times, I can actually feel some tension that I sense the Lord asking me to pray about. For houses that obviously have Christians living there (crosses on the wall, fish near the doorknob, “Don’t Tread on Jesus” door mats), I frequently pray that God would increase their faith and help them to be dynamic leaders in their churches.
2) We have no idea what God is doing and has done because of our prayers. To date, members of The River have prayed over the 7,000 homes in our area at least four times, some homes and neighborhoods more than that. I wouldn't be surprised to one day find out how God moved to save marriages, restore families, and supply jobs because of the few seconds we took to bring that family before the throne.
3) Though it can be the most unnerving portion of a prayer walk, from time to time, I have had wonderful opportunities to have conversations with people who are struggling in life, looking for a church, or just searching for a friendly face because they're so disconnected and alone. It's those divine appointments that make prayer walking the most worth while for me.
Prayer walking doesn't take any special skill. I'm not a great pray-er, and I certainly don't claim to have a hotline to God. But, as I've heard many times, “God isn't looking for our ability, but our availability.” You never know what God is going to do through you until you push out from the dock and go out into the deep with Him.
