I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people
I Timothy 2:1

Our Lord Jesus and His apostles did a lot of walking. Jesus and His apostles did a lot of praying. And if our Lord Jesus instructed that we “ought always to pray” (Luke 18:1), I am thinking they must have done a lot of praying as they walked.

I find that I am one of many people who find we do some of our best praying while walking. Sometimes in praying at home I lose my focus or get sleepy. Prayer Walking can help with this.   

Donald Whitney, in his book, Simplify Your Spiritual Life, offers these  words I find helpful and hope they are for you:

“The walking and the weather invigorate my sluggish soul. Looking up into the blue or out to the horizon refreshes my sense of the greatness of God. The sights, smells, and sounds of my Father’s world surround me with reminders of His presence. The cadence of my pace or stopping occasionally to stare into the distance, often enables me to concentrate in prayer more easily than when I’m still and my eyes are closed.”

I like to walk and I like to pray. Here are some things I have learned about Prayer Walking that I pass on to you. For those of you unable to walk, you might adapt some of the below to looking out the window. 

1. Begin your walk asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to what He wants you to see and to hear while you walk.
2. Greet people along the way, lifting up a blessing for them.
3. Pray for your neighbors as you pass their homes or apartments; the ones where you know there is sickness, loneliness, discord, unemployment, etc.
4. Keep your senses alert to the wonder of God’s creation in any sight, sound, or scent you encounter in our Father’s world.  Talk with God about what you observe and experience.
5. Allow room for silence as you allow room for the Holy Spirit to speak to you and think His thoughts through you.
6. Pray for any school you pass, lifting up the teachers and children to the Lord for His blessing and guidance. 
7. Pray for any church you pass, that the Word of God and Gospel be proclaimed and lived there. 
8. As you walk, keep in mind the basics of prayer, ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

If you already walk for recreation or exercise, why not turn it into Prayer Walking this week? If you are not walking, how about going for walk just for the purpose of praying?  And, sometimes, take a friend or friends with you and experience the power of “where two or three are gathered” for walking and praying. 

I hope you will discover the joy there can be in praying while you walk.

A fellow traveler,
Tim