By a pioneering missionary in the Middle East
We walk through the cobblestone streets cluttered by little markets with wares spilling into the roads, past the wooden homes with plants potted in colorful, old oil cans. The road becomes narrow. We find ourselves climbing a steep hill toward what seems like the stairway to heaven.
We pause at the bottom, necks straining upward. Taking a deep breath, we march up: left foot, right foot, left foot . . . until, at last, the ruins of an archway appear. It frames a spectacular panorama of the city far below.
We stand at the lookout point. We see the city below. Millions of people live on top of each other in a jungle of apartment buildings. We stretch out our hands and pray, tears brimming in our eyes: Oh, God! Have mercy on this vast city!
“Should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know?” (Jonah 4:11).
Back down in the thick of it, I walk more. Highrise apartment buildings close in on me. Cars barely miss me as they hurry by, honking impatiently. Covered women stare, longer than I’d prefer. I don’t look like them, and we both know it. Pretending I’m on the phone, to avoid public scrutiny, I pray out loud. Lord, would you reveal yourself to these ladies?
Then I pass a small group of teenagers. Phone to my ear, I pray again. I bless the hearts of the young people in this community in the name of Jesus, that they may become receptive to the voice of God.
I pass a white-haired man. I wonder if anyone has ever prayed for him. I feel privileged to be, I think, the first and only person to pray for this old image-bearer. That one, Lord. Yes, him. I imagine that man and me sitting in heaven, talking.
“And they shall put my name upon the people . . . and I will bless them” (Numbers 6:27).
I walk by a clinic. A woman walks out of the door, alone, face down. I can feel her sadness. A thought flutters through my mind: Go and pray with her. Is God prompting me? My heart races. Would he ask me to do something so far out of my comfort zone? I pick up my pace and turn into my apartment complex. I think Jesus stayed and lingered with that woman.
“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36).
Jesus walks the streets in me. He opens my eyes to see the city and its people the way he does. He prompts me to pray and fills me with faith. Sometimes he asks me to stop, to engage with a stranger. His compassion moves me to action. My comfort zone slowly expands. It’s exhilarating!
In his book, Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World, Frank Laubach writes this about prayer walking: “There is no more exhilarating way of taking exercise than a walking prayer. When your brain is weary, go out into a crowd and waft prayers in all directions; let them trail like a bridal veil after people as they pass you. You will get the sense that something delicately gauzy, like soft morning light, floats after those for whom you pray.”
Imagine with me an army of prayer walkers, all over the world, in bustling cities and rural villages. They are attuned to Jesus. With every step, they release the kingdom of God on earth. Rulers and principalities bow and yield; their power is broken. Jesus has walked in!
Jesus said that his kingdom is advancing. We are on the battlefield, concerned with the redemption of all things. We must see all things become subject to him. And yet Jesus is humble and meek. We remember that we have sinned. So, we don’t throw stones at those for whom we pray on the streets; we ask God to bless them. Lord, would you release your love to these people? We believe there is hope for them.
We walk, and we pray, and we walk, and we pray . . . step-by-step . . . in that hope.
How to Do a Prayer Walk: Four Steps
Worship: Eyes on Jesus. Recite a Psalm. Declare the lordship of Jesus over the streets.
Ask: Petition God for his Spirit to flood the streets, the homes, the businesses, the schools.
Listen: Pay attention to what he says to you, to his promises. Walk them all over the community.
Know the land: Learn about the area. Research its problems. Pray for breakthrough.
