Three Aims for Prayer Walks

Paul Confer, a board member, and I were in Bolivia, visiting and ministering in churches. One night we visited Iglesia Macedonia. The service was to start at 8:00 p.m. Since we had gotten there early, I was approached and asked, “Can we use this time before service begins to do a prayer walk?” As different ones of us gathered together, I was asked what I did during my walks. I shared the following.

Prayer walks are not social times for us to be talking to one another. As we are walking we are to be focused on fellowshipping with God. My prayer walks include 3 elements:

1. The first element is Worship. Louie Giglio, in his book The Air I Breathe, defined worship in the following way: "Worship is our response, both personal and corporate, to God for who He is, and what He has done; expressed in and by the things we say and the way we live." We were created to worship. 

Worship, while prayer walking, takes on different forms for me. There are times I start out my time singing a chorus or hymn. Other times I will quote verses of Scripture that I have memorized. Sometimes I vocalize my worship out loud. Often, I internally praise Him.

 2. The second element is Warfare. I used to be shy and would hesitate making the following statement, but here goes: I believe in the existence of the Devil. There can be no doubt that we are living in an age of more overt demonic activity in our world than has ever been seen in the past. Perhaps I shied away for stating what I believe because I did not want to be labeled a kook…a madman…a nut.  

But the reality is this: the Word of God talks about the evil one and his destructive powers. Tim Warner put it this way: “Our faulty belief systems have caused us in America to ignore what others see as obvious. In fact, missionaries have been apt to treat demons as real beings.” 

One aim I have for doing prayer walks is to expose, limit, and displace the power of evil forces. Steve Hawthorne in his book on prayer walking wrote: “Prayer walks seek to bring healing in order to interrupt sinful cycles which feed entrenched evil. Malevolent forces are restrained so that good things may come forth.” 

3. The third element is to Welcome. It is gaining an attitude of expectancy, expecting the goodness of Almighty God to be showered upon the community being prayer over. John Huffman of Latin American Mission commented, “As God brings prayed-for results, people of the community often turn their hearts expectantly toward God, welcoming the further work of Christ in their ‘context.’” 

Through prayer walks a climate of receptivity can occur. People are stirred with a holy hunger for God, with which they are awakened to a gentle yearning for the kingdom of God. Their hearts are prepared to truly meet God. Prayer-walkers, over time, become expectantly excited about what God will do in their midst.

Many missionaries are wanting short term mission teams to prayer walk the context where they are ministering. They understand the importance of praying in order for them to succeed in doing what God has called them to do.  

The World Mission Board is considering having a short term mission team go to Wa, Ghana, to serve in October 2025, led by Rev. Jere Gowin. The team will be involved in a variety of ministries, with prayer walks high on the priority list. If you would like more information about this trip, please contact us.