One thing is for sure… life has radically changed over the past six months! Individual’s and families’ lives are different. Church and ministry life is not the same.
As we navigate through this season of change and uncertainty, two themes have consistently come up amongst pastors and planters: We cannot return to business as usual. And we must pray!
We must pray for the Lord to set our hearts on Him, to prepare us for the new season of ministry ahead, and to reveal what He is doing in our city and how we can join Him. Prayer walking has been valuable in the past to launch churches in our city. And it is just as essential today!
Canvas Church is taking the summer months as a season of prayer for their city, including intentionally prayer walking the streets and neighbourhoods of Victoria, BC. Families and groups are signing up to prayer walk their communities. And Pastor Ashley Austin is offering to join any group for their first prayer walk so that they can become familiar and comfortable with the experience.
Some of our local Send Church pastors recently joined together and committed to encourage their churches to prayer walk their community or focus area this summer.
Will you join us? Will you and your church commit to prayer walk your community or focus area this summer?
Together, we can pray over and through Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Vancouver Island, & the Gulf Islands one neighbourhood at a time!
Tips for Prayer Walking
- Ask for the Lord’s guidance. Before you begin walking, ask the Lord to guide you/your group. Ask the Lord to reveal the needs and His activity in this community. Ask Him to guide your walking path and open your senses to receive from Him.
- Pray scriptures. Let scriptures prepare and guide you. Consider verses such as Jeremiah 29:7, Ephesians 6:10-13, Colossians 4:2-4, 1 John 5:14-15, etc.
- Pray with your eyes open. As you walk down the street, what do you see? Who do you see? What conversations or languages do you hear? How are people interacting? Is there evidence of other churches or ministries active in the area? Pray over community gathering points such as schools, community centres, parks, and fields. Be observant of how you can specifically pray as you pass each house.
- Do not be in a hurry. It is not about how many blocks you can cover. It is about asking the Lord to open your eyes & ears. It is about praying for whatever the Lord reveals this day.
- Be conversational. This is a great time
to discover the power of “praying without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
- If prayer walking alone, treat this as an ongoing conversation with the Father as you walk. Pray in response to what you see, hear, and observe.
- If prayer walking in a group, there will be times that you feel lead to pray aloud as you walk. Other times the group will walk quietly in individual prayer and regroup after a block or two to pray together responsively. The key is to remain focussed on prayer… do not give in to the temptation to begin talking amongst yourselves just to avoid what might initially feel like awkward silence.
- Interruptions are invitations! A stranger
saying “hello” or engaging in conversation is not an interruption… it is an
invitation to hear what the Lord is doing in this individual’s life or the
community! Welcome the encounter.
- Ask questions to get to know the individual personally. Be ready to share about yourself.
- Ask questions about the larger community: What do you like most about this area? Where do people naturally gather in this neighbourhood? What is the greatest need in this community? How long have you lived here and have you seen any changes in recent years?
- Look for people of peace. This may be an individual who is spiritually seeking and open to exploring faith or a believer who is excited to see God do new things. This may be an individual who is initially favourable to “doing good things together” and is open to connecting their network for mutually beneficial projects that will help the community. Lydia would be a great example of this type of person in Acts 16:11-15.
- Share
with the family. After your prayer walk, share with your pastor & your
church family what the Lord has revealed in your community so that the family
of God can continue to pray.
- If you are a pastor, we encourage you to share with our team what the Lord is revealing to your church through prayer walks. This will help as we seek to discover needs, share resources, and discern direction to guide our collaborative church planting focus and ministry. Email:raywoodard@gmail.com