It is time to get our walking shoes on – this is going to require getting off the sofa or away from the desk!
Walking increases our heart rate, gets the blood and oxygen pumping around our body, boosts energy levels, exposes us to vitamin D, tones our muscles, strengthens bones, improves our posture and gets endorphins flowing around our body chasing away stress and anxiety. The list of health benefits seems endless! This form of exercise can get our mind focused and help us to process thoughts. It is a great exercise to combine with prayer, talking to God in a fresh and active way. As we step out of the front door of our home, we can step into a new spiritual dimension, just ourselves, God, and the pavement.
If prayer walking is something that is a new concept, here are some top tips on getting started.
Walk to re-connect with God:
- Turn your phone on to silent mode, so that you’re able to avoid distractions.
- Read a Bible passage before setting off and meditate on the words as you walk.
- Pop on a worship track, plug headphones in and pray using the words of the songs.
- Pray into our personal situations, for our family and work colleagues.
- Invite the Holy Spirit to take the lead and be obedient to His voice.
- Take time to be thankful and praise God for all He has done.
Walk to inspire our prayer:
- As we smell the local fish and chip shop or takeaway – we can pray for local businesses.
- As we pass the local school – we can pray for the children and teachers.
- When we hear the leaves rustling in the wind and the birds cheeping away – we can pray for the environment.
- As we reach the gate of our local church – we can pray for the body of Christ to reach communities with the Gospel in an extraordinary way.
- If we notice our neighbours and people sitting on park benches – we can pray blessings upon them and their families.
- As we hear a police siren – we can pray for peace in our neighbourhood.
For more on the subject of prayer walking:
Pastor Jon Colyer speaks about the incredible experiences he has had prayer walking in series 4 of Awakening. Teaching from the book of Joshua, Jon Colyer takes a deeper look at God’s commission to Joshua before he entered and conquered the land of Jericho. Joshua was given the command to march around the city of Jericho each day for six days and on the seventh to march seven times around it.
‘The seventh time around, when the priests sounded the trumpet blast, Joshua commanded the army, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city!’ – Joshua 6:16
The walls of the city of Jericho came tumbling down just as the Israelites were obedient to God. This is such an incredible example of effective prayer walking. Spiritually taking ground for the Lord. Walking and praying increases our faith expectations, the desire to be obedient to God and also deepens our relationship with Him. Find out more about possessing the land in prayer by catching up with Awakening on demand.
Photo by Rachel Woock on Unsplash
