The Big Idea: What a prayer walk is and how to try it out.
Praying with Your Eyes Wide Open
What is the proper position to pray? I think of the head bowed, eyes closed, and hands folded together. It makes a pretty picture. Actually there are a number of places in the Bible, especially observing Jesus' prayer life, where he went to a solitary place, knelt down and prayed. The kneeling is a posture of humility. Closing eyes is often a good idea to keep us from distractions.
The Bible shows several positions of prayer. Included are hands stretched to the heavens (I Kings 8:54), weeping prostate with face down (Ezekiel 10:1), lifting hands in prayer (I Timothy 2:8) and a variety of postures.
Prayer is merely talking with God. Numerous situations lead us to pray; personal concerns, giving thanks, confession, asking for healing, giving a prayer of blessing or dedication, praying on behalf of a crisis, adoring God in worship, and so many more possibilities.
PRAYER WALKS
Let me introduce you to praying as you walk. Pray with your eyes open. You don't want to walk into a shrub or stop sign! Sometimes a visual cue will prompt you with a prayer topic. You won't get bored. You can pray to yourself or pray out loud. You could go alone or pray along with someone. You could even go with a group of people for a purpose. There are numerous situations where this works.
- Walk for exercise chatting with God along the way as you would with a friend.
- Walk in your neighborhood and pray for your neighbors.
- Walk around your children's school ground and pray for teachers, students, your children…
- If you are a college student, pray for your education, financial needs, your teachers, fellow students as you walk through campus.
- On vacation or for spiritual refreshment walk in God's beauty praising Him in worship.
- Walking through the grocery store say a prayer for those who are hungry and in physical need. God may prompt you in the international food section for a part of the world. A missionary I knew from Costa Rica asked us to pray for her when you see bananas with a sticker from Costa Rica.
FRIEND OF GOD
If you are completely new to this, allow yourself to start small. Perhaps the first time you do this you will pray covering two blocks and not know what more to say. Good for you! Try again on your next walk and get more comfortable with this.
Get creative and try a fresh new idea for conversing with God. James 2:23 calls Abraham a friend of God. Friends spend time together. Learn to be God's friend.
Up Next: Three Stooges Prayer Lines
