2.

Going for a walk can be beneficial in itself, just to get outside, get out of your head, and worship. Walking wakes us up, body and spirit. If you’ve ever felt like you can’t focus when you pray, or simply want to begin covering the spaces you are in with prayer in an active and interactive way, consider practicing intentional prayer walks.

We’ve had some friends saying that once they leave the diet culture mindset of walking to burn calories, they need a new purpose outside of a time to complete or speed to meet.

Since prayer is an integral part of creating a meaningful movement habit, we have created this post to help give you some structure to beginning your own prayer walks, whether that be right outside your house, your church, your school, or your home.

When the Lord was giving the promised land to Abraham, He said, “Arise, walk through the length and the breadth of the land, for I will give it to you” (Genesis 13:17). How many of us are familiar with the land God has given us in this time and season? If we are blessed to be a blessing, like our spiritual father Abraham, may we also walk the land God has given us in a heart of faith and thanksgiving.

You might be the only one to walk your street, to pray over that house, to seek God in your church for that children’s room, to cover the threshold of your own home with the Spirit of peace.

If you’ve ever walked somewhere and have experienced a peace you cannot quite explain, maybe someone has been there, has prayed in that spot, has allowed God’s kingdom to come and guard it with His power.

Maybe you can be that prayer warrior in your own space.

Part of prayer is to ask God’s blessing, but many times, we find that through prayer, we are blessed. We find God in ways and places we did not expect. May you be blessed as you begin your prayer walks near and far, starting small and continuing your practice to every piece of earth your foot finds, sending ripples into eternity.

Prayer Walk Your Neighborhood

Here are some methods for ways to prayer walk your neighborhood. These are by no means comprehensive, as the Spirit cannot be contained, but maybe they can be some starting points for you to meet the Lord as you go.

1. Pray One Scripture For Your Neighborhood

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,

because the LORD has anointed me

to bring good news to the poor;

he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; Isaiah 61:1

Pray it over every house you pass. Imagine the people inside you are praying over. They are the soul inside of the body, the person in the house, so to speak. If you are not sure how to pray for each house, speak through the Spirit to their spirit using His own words. My favorite is, “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Jesus proclaimed freedom to the captives. Proclaim freedom to every person inside of every house, and perhaps you’ll end up feeling more free, too. 

2. Focus on Two Words as You Prayer Walk Your Neighborhood 

"He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness, and honor." Proverbs 21:21

Using a Scripture as the base, pray two words, one as you take each step. As you walk, pray one word for each step: righteousness and mercy, or love and truth, or body and blood, knowing that these are the two sides of the spiritual bridges that hold the universe together, that hold our gait together as we walk, balancing one foot with the other. With every step you place you foot down upon, you speak those words over that physical space. You cover it with those words, and whoever enters that territory is now entering a space of faith that you have laid down in prayer. 

3. Listen to Scripture or Worship Music as a Guide for Neighborhood Prayer

"How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" Romans 10:14

Sometimes you need a bit of guidance and inspiration on the way, so listen to the Bible audio version (I like Youversion) or worship music. When you praise the Lord, you enter the gates of thanksgiving. Pray whatever you are hearing directly over your neighborhood as you go. 

4. Call Into Being What You Sense in Your Heart During your Prayer Walk

"Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls." Psalm 42:7

Just as a waterfall causes an internal stirring, a calling out of deep spiritual places, so what we see in someone else's house or yard calls out something in us. All we can do is reflect it back to God, to speak with our mouths, give Him back the glory, and complete the joy circuit!

If there is a playground in front, thank God for being a playful God, one who loves children and promises the kingdom. Say a blessing over the children there. If there is a garden in front, thank God for tending to their souls, and ask Him to continue being the Good gardener to them. Really listen to what He is showing you, and participate in the work He is already doing there with prayer.

5. Create Awareness as You Prayer Walk

“For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’” Matthew 13:15

We can also be so filled with noise and forget to even look around us and pay attention. What kind of birds are already singing worship songs over your neighborhood? What kind of symphony are the frogs making, a joyous sound to the Lord, and how can you add to it and make a hymn in your heart as you go?

How does the light of the sun change the look neighborhood from morning to evening, and how does seeing the presence of the Son change your view of a neighbor?

Paying attention to creation can really open our spiritual eyes to see what the Lord is already doing and participate with Him in His good work, rather than thinking we are on our own, trying to drum up a spiritual presence where we live. He fills the earth!

6. Prayer Walk Your Neighborhood with a Group

"This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other." 1 Corin 12:25

Grab a friend, or a whole group. Take turns praying over a section of the neighborhood. You can do it many ways. For example: one person prays for a street, and when you reach the next street, the next person prays. Pray impromptu Spirit prayers or have a different Scripture prompt for each part of the neighborhood. If you want to do it this way, think about how many streets you will pass and how many Scriptures you would like to bring with you. You can also make this a prayer jog! You’ll just need to pray over a bigger swath of street and shorter words rather than for each house, since you’ll be going more quickly and will have less breath.

7. Act Natural on Your Prayer Walk

If you pass someone on the street, it doesn’t have to be weird. The whole point of this is to connect with neighbors, to love each other, so say hello, make it a point to get their name if you don’t know them. If you feel led, tell them you are on a prayer walk around the neighborhood and if there is anything they would like prayer for. If you’re feeling really bold in the Spirit, you may feel led to ask them to pray right then and there. You could say something like, “I’m on a prayer walk. Is there anything I can pray for you?” If so, you could even ask to pray for them as you walk together for a ways.

Prayer Walk Your Church, School, and Home

Once you’ve been in the habit of prayer walking your neighborhood, it will soon become natural for you to pray as you walk wherever you are. Just like riding a bike, the mind-body connection will become ingrained and you’ll connect your physical steps with the steps of the Spirit, seeking the Word to light a lamp unto your feet and acknowledging the Lord who makes your path straight.

Here are a few different methods for praying in other spaces:

1. Jericho Prayer Walk

For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Ephesians 2:14-16

You can do the Jericho prayer walk around any building or campus, whether that be your church, college, kids’ school, or place of work. Consider what walls divide people from one another and from God in the place you are prayer walking. Just as the Israelites walked around Jericho seven times, set your mind on Christ and the verse above, how He broke down the dividing wall of hostility through His body. Through your presence, invite the Lord to break down any man-made walls of division. On the 7th lap, worship and pray in thanksgiving that the Lord breaks people free. If the Spirit moves you, sing aloud songs of joy!

2. Ebeneezer Stones Prayer Walk

Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen and called its name Ebenezer; for he said, “Till now the LORD has helped us.” 1 Samuel 7:12

In your place of prayer, what objects are witnesses to the Lord’s faithfulness? Student desks that speak of many years of learning? An office chair that supports business calls and connections between others? Give thanks for these objects, and as you pray through the space, consider setting up your own “Ebeneezer stones,” which could be a literal pile of flat rocks outside the door or a jar of stones, one for each time you pray, or verses and pictures displayed that remind you of God’s faithfulness. When you pray in this way, not only do you invite the Lord to continue working, but He will open your eyes to what He has already been doing so you can step in and partner with Him.

Prayer Walk Your Home

“Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place. I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my Name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will always be there. With a humble heart, thank the LORD for His favor upon your family and your home.” 2 Chronicles 7:15-16

Home can often be overlooked because it’s so close, but who else is praying over your home if not you?

Make this a part of your routine as you tend to your home: as you prepare for the morning activities, pray as you go, letting the Lord lead the way for your day.

As you tidy up at night, give thanks for God’s faithfulness. As you interact with each object in your house, find God in it. Sweeping the floor can become a prayer of sweeping your own heart clean. Chasing your kids can become a prayer of seeking, and finding, the Lord.

Pray for your family and those you live with before they leave the house. It’s a sweet reminder that God goes with us wherever we are, and it will make your home is a wonderful place of love and care to come back to.

And don’t forget the home of your own body! The Lord is there too—may you feel His favor rest upon you as you go.

Create Your Own Prayer Walk

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

These are all just ideas, but there is no one way to pray. Prayer is simply connecting with God who is already with you. He is the Way, and that's all we need! As you practice God’s presence in stillness, as you go, when you go to bed and when you rise, you live out 1 Thessalonians above, to pray without ceasing. This is what it means to live as people who know God is with us, always!

More Prayer Resources

If you would like more direction when it comes to connecting your body and life through prayer, we recommend the Body Blessings Course. This course and the corresponding journal is designed to help you cultivate a prayer practice that specifically addresses your view of and care for your body (thoughts and behaviors work in tandem to form new neural pathways), go through the practice for 8 weeks (2 journals) and see how it transforms your body image and thought life concerning your body.