Prayer Walk
A prayer walk is a discipline that I am well aware of and practice often in my life. It was actually a prayer walk that acted as the catalyst Jesus used to bring me to him. I was at middle school summer camp and one evening we were assigned to take a prayer walk around the camp with our small groups. Throughout the walk around the camp, we would stop at stations where we would meet someone from the Bible (our leaders were dressed up as characters from the Bible).
I remember the first man that we came across was John the Baptist. He stood in the lake and told us about why he came and a little about Jesus. Once he was done speaking, we moved on to the next station and prayed as we walked. Eventually, we ended up back in the chapel where they gave us all a small mirror and asked us the question, “Who are you?” The moment I looked into the mirror and asked myself that question, my entire life changed. A simple prayer walk became the catalyst I needed to truly follow Jesus.
Not every prayer walk will look like the one that changed my life, and not every prayer walk needs to have life-changing significance. Prayer walks can start small where you choose to simply walk around the block or walk on a trail. As you walk , talk to God as if He were walking next to you (because He is).
When I go on prayer walks I do not like to have anything that can take my attention off of God, which usually means I will leave my phone behind. If something else does take my attention off of Him, it is usually something beautiful that he created such as the trees or the stars. It is moments like these where I take the time to slow down enough to realize that all of creation is praising our King, and if we were quiet enough to listen, we could hear the roar of the world raising up praise to the God who created it.
One helpful tool that can be used to begin this practice is called “Praying the Psalms”. An example could be using Psalm 23 as a guide for when you begin your walk. Psalm 23 reads, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he LEADS me beside quiet waters, and he refreshes my soul. He GUIDES me along the right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I WALK through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are WITH me; your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
I put special emphasis on “leads,” “guides,” “walk,” and “with,” because as you pray this Psalm on a prayer walk you can understand why walking with God can be so important. The Lord will lead you like a shepherd with his sheep. He will guide your steps through the good and the bad. He will listen as you present your cares and worries to Him.
Another prayer exercise we can practice is called “drawing a circle.” This practice can be done in several ways. One way is to take a paper and write those things that come to mind you need to pray for. Draw a circle around them and be intentional with what you ask God to do.
Another way to practice this is to pair it with a prayer walk. Instead of simply going on a walk, make a large circle around what you want to pray for. If you want to pray over the community of the church, come and walk around the building while speaking to our Lord. If you want to pray over the youth ministry, come and walk around the Pier. Pray for your neighborhood by making a large loop around it praying to God that those within the circle can come to know him better.
Prayer walks and drawing circles can be amazing exercises where we can be incredibly intentional with our prayers to the point of asking God for him to do anything. John writes in John 15:7, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” If what you ask is in the will of God, he will give to you whatever you ask and his will for everyone’s life is to be faithful to Him. This week, pray bold prayers, and go on many walks for Jesus wants to spend that time with you!