Are you looking to really boost your prayer life, and maybe try something you haven’t yet before?
You may have heard of kneeling when praying, bowing your head, closing your eyes, and spending that quiet intimate time conversing with the Lord.
BUT… have you ever heard of prayer walking??
Not all praying means you have to have your eyes closed and head bowed – although there are times when you need to kneel or lay down before the Lord! I’ve been there and those times are beautiful.
Obviously, your eyes can’t be closed while you are walking, right? So what is a prayer walk and how can you start one today? Let’s dig a little deeper!
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What is a Prayer Walk
What exactly is a prayer walk? What do you do and what kind of things or people can you pray for?
Prayer walking is when you are walking around or circling places like buildings, businesses, homes, or anywhere you are trying to pray over.
You can walk around your church for example and pray for the church as a whole, and then step inside and pray over each ministry, room, etc. Same for your place of work!
Another great example would be whenever you move into a new home – that is a GREAT opportunity to do a prayer walk around your home.
My husband and I have moved 6 times in the 8 years we have been married, following the Lord’s calling to ministry, changing states, and then ending up back home where we live now!
Before our daughter was born, we prayed over her nursery and have made it a habit ever since! We walk through the rooms of the houses we have lived in since then and pray for those rooms, as well as the home and community we live in as well.
Obviously, we don’t walk around the entire city, but knowing our home is covered in prayer and protection is a huge relief, especially as parents!!
Also, you can pray for your kids’ schools, at the park, at businesses, anywhere that you want to cover in prayer. There is something SO powerful about physically covering a place in prayer.
I mean, we can look at one of the most well-known stories in the Bible of the marching around the walls of Jericho until they came “a-tumbling down.” You can read about this in Joshua 6 and see how prayer walking is powerful!
All prayer walks don’t have to be outside or around buildings either – you can walk through places and pray, such as church pews, specific rooms, etc.
Why is a Prayer Walk Important
Prayer walks are important because it’s a physical action that we do in faith – we are praying over something specific with the expectation that God is going to do mighty things!
Not only is it a great way to get moving and light exercise, but the physical act of “covering” a place in prayer is such a strong way to grow closer to God, deepen your prayer life, and ensure you are praying for others.
Prayer walking is also important because, for parents, it’s a great way to teach your children how to pray! Kids are such visual learners, so seeing you walking and speaking prayers out loud is so amazing for them to visualize and model.
Plus, kids love to get up and move, right?? So it’s fun for them as well!
Now that my daughter is a little older, we have used prayer walking as a way to teach her how to pray, and show her what having a healthy prayer life looks like.
How to Start a Prayer Walk
How exactly can you start a prayer walk? It’s a lot easier than you think!
First I would recommend starting in your own home – as I mentioned earlier, praying over your home and your kids’ rooms is a great place to start.
You can do this each day, once a quarter, once a year, or whatever you feel like God is leading you to do.
Here are some tips to help you learn how to start your prayer walking:
- Pray and ask God for specific places or people to pray for
- Make a list of these places or people
- Figure out how often to pray (for example, praying at your kids’ school/schools at the beginning of every school year, praying over your church at Christmas and Easter, your home every quarter, etc.)
- Find others who may want to join – for example, if praying over your home you may want your spouse to join. If praying over your children’s ministry at church, you may want some other church members to come with you
- Consider fasting the day before or of your prayer walk
- Lastly, go and walk around those places to pray!
If you are someone who gets outside and walks every day, then that is the perfect time to pray as well! As you pass neighbors’ houses, pray for them as well, and whatever else God lays on your heart.
Prayer Walk Ideas
Do you need some inspiration on what exactly to pray over? I would definitely recommend praying and asking God, and if He impresses anyone or place on your heart then start there!
But, here are some other ideas to help get you started! This important thing is to get out there and start praying. 🙂
- Your home – inside and out (walk around your yard, your garden, your kids’ playset, each room in the home, the car, etc.)
- Your church (the whole building, the sanctuary, Sunday school classrooms, the gym)
- Your place of business
- Drive around your community
- Schools in your area, whether your kids attend or not
- Praying for a specific people group in another area – pick somewhere specific where you can walk and pray for those people. You don’t have to go to that place physically for your prayer to impact their hearts!
Are you looking for some tools and tips to boost your prayer life? If so, be sure to visit our Prayer Resources Library where you’ll find everything you need to become a powerful prayer warrior!
Prayer Walk Scripture
There are so many powerful scriptures you can pray over people, places, and other things as you are beginning your prayer walking journey. Here are a few great ones to start with!
Prayer walk scriptures for your home:
- For peace – Romans 12:18
- Protection from evil – Matthew 6:13
- Family unity – Ephesians 4:32
Related: 5 Powerful Prayers for Family Unity
Prayer walk scriptures for your community:
- For new hearts – Ezekiel 11:19
- For revival – 2 Chronicles 7:14
Scriptures to pray over your church and leadership:
- Meeting together – Hebrews 10:24-25
- One body – Romans 12:4-5
- For leadership – Numbers 6:24-26
Related: 6 Powerful Prayers for Church Leadership and Staff
And finally, here are some other fantastic prayer walk scriptures you can pray any time, any day, and for any person or place during your prayer walk:
I hope this has helped open your eyes to a new and exciting way to pray. Not only will prayer walking help deepen your prayer life and relationship with Christ, but it’s also such an active and important way to live out your faith.
And definitely feel free to get your whole family involved! Have a daily or weekly prayer walk time here maybe each of you picks someone or somewhere you want to pray over, and drive there to do so.
It’s such a beautiful thing to be able to lift other people and places up in prayer, and will bless your spiritual walk as well!
Mindy blogs over at Mindy Jones Blog where she writes about Christian motherhood, encouraging moms to raise godly kids with practical tips, resources, and authenticity.
