Prayerwalking

Ideas and Best Practices

At a basic level, prayerwalking is just praying while walking in a certain area, attending particularly to the needs in the place where the individual/group is walking.

When leading a group prayerwalk (i.e. for our My Suburb Project), here are some best practices to consider (note: though I’ve used “neighborhood” below, substitute “school,” “building,” “church,” “park,” etc. as fits your situation):

- Start with a scripture reading that sets the tone for the time.

- Start walking!

- Instead of jumping right into supplication (requests), consider spending the first portion of the time praying prayers of praise to God for who He is and thanking Him for what He has done.

- Pray with your eyes open, asking God to move you to pray for what He wants for the neighborhood. We want our hearts to be aligned with His!

- Walk together slowly. If the group is too big for all to hear each other’s prayers (or to fit on the sidewalk), consider splitting into multiple smaller groups to walk and pray before meeting up at the end for a final (stationary) time of prayer altogether.

- One person should pray at a time, with the others agreeing. (Pray louder than you think you need to, in order for everyone to hear!)

- Some prayers will be long; others will be short. People should feel free to pray as they feel led, starting and stopping as the Spirit prompts.

- Be open to the Spirit’s leading as you encounter people along the way. Consider pausing prayer to speak to a person, and if it seems appropriate, consider letting them know you’re praying for the neighborhood and asking how you can pray for them.

- Pray (by name) for the people you know who live in the neighborhood. Pray for the believers to boldly live and proclaim the gospel. Pray for the unbelievers to encounter Christ and be drawn to Him.

- Pray for those who have influence in the neighborhood and for those who tend to be forgotten/neglected.

- Pray for guidance as to how God’s people might more effectively minister to the needs of this neighborhood.