Prayer walking

I was introduced to prayer walking more than 30 years ago when a friend told me he walked almost daily around the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa, praying for the Members of Parliament and others working inside.

I was impressed, but I felt it was easier to pray in the comfort of home.  Yet I now know I was missing something important.

I am called to pray continually (1 Thessalonians 5:17) and what better way to pray than to bring the people I meet in everyday life before the Lord?

Our church is having its annual prayer walk this week with teams of two strolling the streets around the church, praying for people in nearby homes, for shop owners, and for schools and institutions.  It is organized by a keen prayer walker who has done this for years in her neighborhood and elsewhere.

In a brochure she prepared, she says that the value of prayer walking is that we can see what we are praying for - such as a troubled home or a school that we are concerned about.  As we see, we are prompted to pray about specific things that come to mind.

Most of all, of course, we can pray that the Spirit of God will work in the minds and hearts of the people we see, drawing them to Jesus if they don't already know him.  Such prayers may come at just the right moment in the spiritual journeys of the people we meet.

If you're interested in making prayer walking a regular part of your life, Steve Hawthorne and Graham Kendrick have written a book called Prayer-walking: Praying on Site with Insight.

And here is a brief video which offers insights into prayer walking: