Prayer walking has been part of Christian heritage for many centuries.  The British countryside has many long distance paths used by monks and other travelers from one cathedral city to another. The bible links walking with God's promises on several occasions : Noah is described as "walking with God", Abraham was told to walk the land, for "I am giving it to you."  Joshua was told "I will give every place where you set your foot as I promised Moses" (Joshua 1:3)  The prophet Micah declared "All the nations may walk in the name of their gods, we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever." (Micah 4:5)

Prayer walking has been a powerful spiritual tool in the Christian toolkit for generations. Prayer walking today still has the power to take our prayer out into the territory around us.   prayer walking today can claim territory for Christ

Developing the habit of prayer walking enables us to see our neighborhoods as Christ sees them, and allows us to offer up prayers for things we see. This can take a range of approaches from individuals praying as they walk around the parish, to structured prayer campaigns for particular streets and homes. Prayer walking can also give us insights on the spiritual climate of our towns and cities as the Spirit provides insight as we walk the streets. Such insight can have a powerful effect on our mission and ministry strategies.

Another purpose of prayer walking is personal time with God. Just as Jesus withdrew to lonely places to pray (eg Luke 5:16), we can often find a unity with God in the beauty of his creation. For some, trying to pray alone in the house can be difficult when the mind wanders, and other distractions take over. Out in open spaces, the eye is caught by fresh new elements of God's creation and can bring the mind back to prayer.

One of the main reasons we pray is to extend our place in God’s plan outside of the place where we live. We may have little personal influence in the high places of government, for missions overseas or even in large parts of the cities in which we live, but through prayer we can touch the heart of God for many things.

Why Prayer Walk?

There are three reasons to prayer walk

For vision. As we walk and pray, we come to see our neighbors through
God’s eyes. We can begin to sense whom God is drawing to Himself and we can become part of it

For relationship. As we bring our prayers close to their homes, we make neighbors aware of our concern for God’s goodness in their lives. Our prayers can thus open new levels of friendship for Christ.

For hope. As we pray Kingdom-size promises for our community, we help grasp a better Christ-focused level of hope for our cities. Steps of obedience spring out of the joy of hope.

The Goals of Prayer Walking

To cover our entire city in prayer by prayer walking down every street and praying on behalf of the people, homes, religious centers, businesses, organizations, and agencies located on the streets

To bless Christ-centered, Bible-believing churches and organizations by pronouncing blessings upon them, praying for them, and coming against spiritual powers that might oppose them.

To intercede on behalf of the city by coming against authorities and powers that
bring corruption and bondage

To effect spiritual reconciliation among people and entities by repenting for the corporate sins perpetuated against any group

To intercede on behalf of the city for a spiritual awakening that will lift the standard of righteous-ness and bring an end to violence, crime, and evil manifestation in the city, and most importantly for the salvation of the people of the city.

Where do we Prayer Walk?

Obviously, the specifics of where we prayer walk will vary with our city and with our prayer agenda, but some of the places we could prayer walk are as follows:

Neighborhoods, Schools, Workplaces, Overlook points, Sites of harm or tragedy

Sites of past sin, Sites of ongoing sin, Sites of strongholds, Entrance sites into the city

Churches (for blessing), Government and non-governmental authority sites

Consecrated use sites (prayer mountains and hills, etc.)

If we are persistent in our prayer walks, we can pray for every person in our area. We can do this either by walking around the perimeter of the city or area we are praying for (sort of like a Jericho march), through its center, or in the places we suggested above. Prayer walking is an ideal opportunity for the local church lay coordinator to truly organize the laity for suitable service.

How to Get Started Prayer walking

Join with other believers.   Set aside time.   Choose an area. 

Pray with insight.    Focus on God.   Regather and report.    Coordinate efforts.