Prayerwalking

Years ago, one of my mentors, Mike Cope, took a group of Harding guys around Searcy, Arkansas in a van, stopping at grocery stores to watch and pray for people walking in, to talk about churches and their impact or lack of impact on the community, and if there’d been honky tonks in Searcy, I’m sure we’dve stopped at one of those to pray for the people coming in and out.

My buddies, Mark Moore and John Barton, have carried on the tradition of “prayer touring” with the Jinja Tour for our internship each summer in Uganda. We’d visit sites around the city of Jinja, Uganda and nearby villages, pray for people, hear new perspectives on and pray for the poor, people living on $2 a day, people in the marketplace, and the brothels.

This morning I walked with John Dickmann, friend and Garnett Church of Christ administrator, around the property of the church, praying for the sacred ground that this place has been for many years and many people. We walked by the bus barn where JOY buses were repaired and sent back out into the streets for years, strolled by the broken sign that needs repairs, and we prayed for the neighbors bordering this property.

For more on “Prayerwalking,” read Ted Haggard’s book, Taking it to the streets: Impacting Communities through prayerwalking. And if you know of other books on this or would like to share an experience you’ve had, please let me know.