Prayer Walking: Engaging the World in the Age of COVID-19

As many of us are needing to engage various levels of social isolation, including sheltering in place, walking is one of the only activities in the world left us. We can use our walks as an amazing missional opportunity.

WHAT IS A PRAYER WALK?

As we walk, we also observe and pray in response to what we are seeing.

Some have called it, “intercession on location.”

WHY DO WE PRAYER WALK?

Prayer walking doesn’t initiate God’s work. Rather, it cultivates in us an awareness of God’s loving presence and Kingdom purposes in our neighborhood. As the Dutch theologian Abraham Kuyper observed, “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!”

HOW DO WE PRAYER WALK?

Most simply, as you walk, talk with God about what you see, including the specific places and residences and people. Ask him to give you eyes to see beyond the surface and into the spiritual realities. Call to mind what you know from the Scriptures about God’s heart for the world and ask for those things. It’s easy to prayer walk with a partner, just pray out loud conversationally as you walk. Before you begin, you may want to read Eph 6:10-20, 1 Tim 2:1-10, Eph 1:17-18, Rom 8:18-30, or Ps 46.

WHAT DO WE PRAY DURING COVID-19?

• For a sense of community and love to flourish throughout the neighborhood.
• For peace over and against anxiety, fear, and depression.
• For the protection of health, especially the vulnerable; for recovery for the sick.
• For those who tend the sick, at home or work, for steadfast strength and wisdom.
• For spiritual revival and returning, for true knowledge of God.
• For jobs and income; for economic security.
• For families and households, to live in harmony and mutual blessing.
• For joy and hope over loneliness and despair; for healthy meals shared in love.
• For children and students, to continue to grow and learn and play in security.
• For those living alone, for family and community to draw near however possible.
• For Christians, to be people of courage, generosity, and self-giving love.
• For Jesus to overthrow the pandemic and deliver us. 2 Cor 1:10.