By: Kirk Laukner
The Value of a Prayer Walk
There is something deep and transformational that happens when we walk the streets of our community while conversing with God. We invite you to make a thirty-day “practice” by walking and praying through your own neighborhood.
Hopefully, this will stimulate a lifetime practice of prayer for the “place” where you live. Whether you reside in the heart of a major city, in suburbia, or in the middle of the countryside, God has people who live “Right where you are”. Love deeply and give your life away for the sake of the Kingdom!
Throughout the next 30 days, be intentional. Take time to WALK, PRAY, PAY ATTENTION, and LISTEN.
Praying Through Your Neighborhood
Day One
Lord, would you please deepen my love for my neighborhood, this place I call home. “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14)
Day Two
Do I know the names of my neighbors? Lord, help me to learn the names of those living by me.
Day Three
Lord, thank You for the gift of a new day! May You surprise me as I walk these streets and enjoy this time with You. May a “divine appointment” happen today!
Day Four
When was the last time I was invited to my neighbors’ home? When was the last time I had a neighbor over for dinner? Lord, would You give me the time and capacity to practice hospitality? Is there someone we could invite for dinner within the next month?
Day Five
Lord, help me be faithfully present in my neighborhood. May I intentionally say “yes” and “no” to the right things so I have more time for my neighbors.
Day Six
What promises am I praying over my neighborhood? While I am walking today bring to mind specific scripture that speaks to loving people, the neighborhood, and the expansion of the gospel.
Day Seven
Are there other Christ-followers in my neighborhood? Who else can join us? Lord, would you please help me identify “people of peace” or people who care deeply about my neighborhood.
Day Eight
Lord, would You please deepen my love for my neighborhood, this “place” I call home. “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14)
Day Nine
Lord, help me to see my neighborhood with Your eyes. May my heart break for those things that break Your heart.
Day Ten
Today while walking I will bring along a bag and pick up trash along the way. Lord, thank you for Your creation; help me to steward and care for the beauty of the earth You have made.
Day Eleven
Today I will give thanks! As I walk I will focus on the blessings that God has given me. Much like a river that is overflowing, I will allow “thanks” to well up inside my heart. Lord, thank You my neighborhood, my home, food, and the daily comforts that I so often take for granted. Thank You! “So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” (Colossians 2:6-7)
Day Twelve
Today as I walk I will pay attention to the buildings, the businesses, non-profits, schools, and churches. What is already happening in my neighborhood and how may I join in and help these organizations? Lord, please lead me as I consider how involved I should become in my neighborhood.
Day Thirteen
Today I will pray at a park or playground. When was the last time I intentionally visited our community center? Lord, I long to be a “known character”, one that is recognized, loved, and respected. Use me in this “place”.
Day Fourteen
Today I will pray for laborers to flow out of the neighborhood. “When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask The Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.’ ” (Matthew 9:36-38)
Day Fifteen
Lord, would You please deepen my love for my neighborhood, this “place” I call home. “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14)
Day Sixteen
Today I will meditate on these four words: Soften, Center, Listen, and Respond. Lord, may you keep my heart Soft and open, Centered in Christ, Listening to your Holy Spirit, and Responding in love.
Day Seventeen
Today I will invite a friend to join me as I walk. (The relationship with this person will determine whether we pray together or simply walk while praying silently.) “For where two or three come together in My name, there I am with them.” (Matthew 18:20)
Day Eighteen
“The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” (Galatians 5:14)
Day Nineteen
Who are the neighbors that God is moving and drawing me towards, nudging me to take that next-step from “acquaintance” into “relationship”? Lord, will You help me move towards friendship with my neighbors, going beyond simply knowing their names.
Day Twenty
“You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)
Day Twenty-One
When was the last time we had a party at our house? Who could we invite? Who could help us? “Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them.” (Luke 5:29)
Day Twenty-Two
Lord, thank You for the gift of a new day! May You surprise me as I walk these streets and enjoy this time with You. May a “divine appointment” happen today!
Day Twenty-Three
Lord, would you please deepen my love for my neighborhood, this place I call home. “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14)
Day Twenty-Four
Today as I walk I will ask God to give me a picture of what our neighborhood could become. Lord, please increase the vision for my neighborhood.
Day Twenty-Five
Today as I walk I will pray for insight on how I can “link” with other neighborhoods within my city.
Day Twenty-Six
“The number-one obstacle to neighboring well is time. Do you currently live at a pace that allows you to be present in your neighborhood?” (The Art of Neighboring)
Day Twenty-Seven
“From one man He made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” (Acts 17:26-27)
Day Twenty-Eight
“Remember that God is and has been at work in your neighborhood. Part of leadership is attuning yourself to the breath of God as He brings new life to the dry bones of your place. Live in the freedom that comes from knowing that God loves your neighborhood far more than you ever will. You can actually trust God’s love for your place.” (The New Parish)
Day Twenty-Nine
Lord, would You please deepen my love for my neighborhood, this “place” I call home. “The Word became flesh and moved into the neighborhood.” (John 1:14)
Day Thirty
“I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
