This is the second of five posts describing spiritual practices that help to center our lives on Jesus while transforming us into his likeness.
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior. (1 Timothy 2:1-3)
Ever since I could walk, I loved to run. Cross country and mile track races in high school introduced me to long runs. Being out on trails gave me an opportunity to appreciate God’s creation in nature and pray. Now, with an arthritic knee, I take long walks. Slowing down allows me to pay attention to my surroundings. I’m not as anxious about catching my breath or keeping up my pace. Prayer walking adds a layer of intentionality where I pray for the places I encounter as I go.
Busyness can feel like running from one thing to the next. Without noticing what’s going on around us, we miss out on participating in God’s work where we are. When I led a prayer walk with graduate students at the University of California Davis, I asked them to slowly walk while they prayed for the places they encountered.
Afterwards one student shared how he rarely notice the needs around him during the workday. In prayer walking, he saw anxious students studying for exams and prayed for their mental health. Another prayed that students would belong to communities, especially after the isolation that resulted from the pandemic.
“Prayer walking draws us out of prayers that are limited to our immediate concerns and into a larger circle of God’s loving attention,” writes Adele Ahlberg Calhoun (Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us; IVP). “It can offer a way for listening more deeply to God, to what his concerns for a particular place might be,” Calhoun writes. “When we do a prayer walk through a place, we pray for what happens there and seek to recognize God’s presence there. This helps us to see the heart of God for that place.”
Choose a place to prayer walk. Amid a busy day, you can prayer walk in transit to meetings or buildings. During lunch, you can pray for your school campus, job site, public gathering space, or neighborhood. Listen as you go to the needs and concerns of those places. If you’re not sure how to pray, pray for
- The people who regularly utilize that space
- The ideas that are taught or discussed there
- The institutional structures and systems influencing it
If you prayer walk with a group, gather afterward to share your experience. For a campus prayer walk guide, click here.
Howard Chang serves as a Team Leader in InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries Pacific Area. He oversees ministries in the Central Valley, including the graduate student and faculty groups at UC Davis. Howard is an ordained minister who served in churches for over 20 years and holds a Doctor of Ministry degree from Fuller Theological Seminary.
NCF offers opportunities to pray with other nurses weekly online, join a prayer team, ask for prayer, and be involved with NCF through praying with us.
