Have you ever found yourself praying the same requests over and over? Or maybe you know talking to God is important, but the repetition of how you pray sometimes feels . . . boring.
If you can relate, why not try a prayer walk?
The idea is simple: A prayer walk is where you go for a stroll and pray for the people and places you pass. You might walk by yourself or with your family or a group of friends. There’s nothing extra holy about prayer walks, but they can break you out of your usual, and sometimes monotonous, routine. It might even cause you to pray for people or situations you’ve never thought of before.
How to get started
If a prayer walk sounds interesting to you, here are a few practical tips:
Pick a place. Maybe it’s your neighborhood, school, church or a certain part of town.
Be safe. Stay aware of your surroundings—especially traffic—as you pray. (Remember, God doesn’t need you to close your eyes.) Try to focus on your path instead of on your phone. Consider bringing others with you if you’re walking around the community.
Pray out loud or silently. If you’re by yourself, you can pray silently. If you’re walking with others, don’t be afraid of pauses or even long silences, as you pray out loud.
Stop occasionally. Use cues from your location to prompt prayer. For example, if you’re walking around your church and approach the nursery, you could pray for the teams who serve on Sunday or for church members to grow in childlike faith.
Pray from your heart. God doesn’t need you to use big, fancy words to impress Him (or the people you’re with).
Prayer prompts
If you need help getting started, consider these prayer topics as you walk:
Lost (2 Peter 3:9): Pray for those who don’t yet know Jesus, whether across the world or across the street. Ask God to give you and other Christians courage to share the ultimate Good News with them.
Light (Philippians 2:15): Pray for all believers to grow and be more like Jesus as a testimony to the world. It’s also a good time to thank God for His blessings, especially the gift of salvation.
Leaders (1 Timothy 2:1-2): This includes anyone who others look up to. In a community, pray for anyone from the chief of police to the local soccer coach. In a church, you can pray for the worship team, missionaries or the preschool Sunday school helper. Pray that they would make wise decisions and set a godly example.
Love (Psalm 69:13): Pray for big-picture issues that a school, church or community might face where God’s love needs to break through—anything from bullying to homelessness to racism.
As you participate in a prayer walk, remember James 5:16: “The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” You might not be like Joshua, marching around your school and praying for the walls to fall down, or like Elijah, praying for fire from heaven in your church parking lot, but God loves to hear and answer prayers for the people and places you love. He might even use you as part of that answer! So go ahead and walk out your faith—literally.
