What Is a Prayer Walk? How to Pray as You Go

During a prayer walk, Christians walk through a targeted area while praying intentionally for the people, places, and circumstances in that community. Rather than praying in one place, Jesus' disciples move through neighborhoods and city streets, blessing the area with God’s presence and activity. Often, prayer walks focus on asking God for a spiritual revival or guidance. These help to actively practice faith in the environment Christians want to see transformed in some way. 

Prayer walks can look different depending on the group. Some structure theirs with specific Bible verses or prayer goals, while others try to be more spontaneous, allowing the Holy Spirit to guide the direction and subject of prayers. Christians can pray silently, but most intercede aloud and stop to pray at locations like government buildings, hospitals, schools, or neighborhoods. Many prayer walks include worship and reading Bible verses. A few will anoint places with oil to consecrate the area to God. In more spontaneous groups, believers will feel God direct them to individuals they see and give them spiritual insight or pray for them. 

Photo credit: Unsplash/Ant Rozetsky

While many Evangelical, Charismatic, and Pentecostal church groups regularly use prayer walks, the Bible doesn’t provide a specific narrative example, nor does the Scripture directly encourage the practice. We have to take some principles from different biblical verses and accounts. 

The main narrative support comes from Joshua. After the death of Moses, Joshua leads the Israelites over the Jordan and into the Promised Land. In Joshua 1:3, God says to him, “I will give you every place where you set your feet, as I promised Moses.” The context must come first, since God promises this directly related to leading the Israelites into the land he promised. Beyond the situation, God has given his people authority in Christ. When we prayer walk, we symbolically claim God’s presence in a neighborhood, city, and nation. Just as God promised Joshua territory for Israel, we can pray for God’s loving, righteous rule and reign to expand in the places where we walk. 

Next, God gives Joshua the strategy for bringing down the city of Jericho (Joshua 6). Jericho had thick walls, a mighty city, and the Lord had Joshua and the Israelites simply walk around Jericho, once a day. On the seventh day, they walked around and then shouted, and the walls fell straight down. This story shows how prayer with faith and action can lead to the fall of spiritual territory. Believers who go on prayer walks trust God to move in the unseen realms and break through for good in their communities. 

Obviously, the Bible continually commands God’s people to pray, even for their land. “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14) Prayer walks target a certain area because God cares about people and communities. He desires to “heal the land” through repentance and forgiveness, turning people to worship the one true God and all the benefits that come with it. 

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/mirsad sarajlic

In Luke 10:1-2, Jesus teaches his disciples, including us, to pray for the harvest: 

“The Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” Christ sent his disciples to specific places, towns and regions, and he sent them in groups of at least two. Prayer proved central to the ministry, and he told them to intercede and ask the Father for the harvest, symbolizing the souls to be won. Salvation and transformation are a work of God alone, and we simply join him in what he’s doing, calling on him to act. Prayer walks incorporate this principle. 

There’s also power in unity and agreement. As we saw him send the disciples out by two, he further teaches the power of agreement and unity in prayer in Matthew 18:18-20:

“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Prayer walks can be done alone, as I have done, but many are done in groups, reflecting the overall biblical principle of power in agreement and numbers. Jesus also taught how our Christian unity would be a testimony to the world of God’s reality (John 17:21).

Prayer walks also often happen over time. Like when God had the Israelites (a group in unity) walk around Jericho for days, believers will plan to have prayer walks over time, whether daily or weekly. Jesus taught about the power of persevering prayer, to pray and not give up (Luke 18:1). The apostle Paul also encouraged the church to endure in prayer. “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” (Romans 12:12) We pray persistently, trusting God even when we don’t see immediate results.

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/anyaberkut

Various groups practice some form of prayer walking. Evangelical Christians will have more organized prayer walks as part of outreach efforts, praying for the salvation of the lost in the community. They might prayer walk leading up to an evangelistic event or special service, interceding for God to prepare the hearts of those who will come and hear the Gospel. 

Charismatic and Pentecostal Christians do more prayer walks and seek the power and leading of the Holy Spirit when they do. These groups will pray against spiritual “strongholds” in the city and ask God to break the chains of demonic forces. Charismatic believers might use the prayer walk to engage in spiritual warfare, seeking transformation in a community. 

As in my case, missionary organizations and church planting teams use prayer walks before starting new ministries. Walking through an area before a launch helps to understand the local people and their spiritual needs. Church congregations might organize a prayer walk over their buildings while asking for blessing over their ministries. Some churches might use a prayer walk as part of a 24-hour span before Easter or Christmas when more visitors come to church. 

Christian social justice groups also participate in prayer walks, moving through marginalized or poor areas, praying for change and seeking redemptive justice for those who suffer. They might focus on issues like poverty, racial reconciliation, or human trafficking. These prayer walks can be a public witness, raising awareness, connecting prayer with a march or protest against injustice. 

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/KlausVedfelt

The Bible doesn’t give any teaching on a prayer walk, much less any rigid structure. As with all things, we can make them creative and engaging. Different things influence how to do a prayer walk—the gifts and leadership of the group, the freedom of movement in the area, the leading of the Holy Spirit, and the needs of the target community. Here are some examples of creative ways to do a prayer walk. 

1. First, instead of praying spontaneously, people can bring Bible verses on paper or their phone that express their prayers. This might help those who feel uncomfortable praying aloud spontaneously. As you walk, you can declare these verses and truths aloud, asking God to fulfill his promises and show his power. As an example, you can read Jeremiah 29:7 as a roadmap to seek healing for the city.
   
   
2. Second, you can do a community blessing walk. In this, you pray specific blessings over homes, businesses, schools, and churches as you pass by. You can pray for success for a business, wisdom over a school principal and teachers, or ask for healing and safety for a hospital, lifting each place and using names when you know them. Here, you focus on asking for God’s favor and presence to be evident in each location for the people within.
   
   
3. Third, as a more interactive experience, you can write short prayers and Bible verses on sidewalks with chalk. This amazing method leaves a visible impact, allowing others to see God’s Word and your prayers over them long after you’re gone. This works great in parks, near a school, or in a downtown area. Chalk can be easily removed, and you can utilize people’s artistic talent, incorporating images inspired by the words. And the chalk method also helps children to easily feel a part of the prayer walk.
   
   
4. Fourth, set up specific stations to pray over certain topics or areas. A leader would need to organize the stations, which might be someone’s gift. At each stop, the participants would focus on a theme like the government, families, education, business, or the church. Leaders could assign a guiding Bible verse for each station, intentionally leading the walk through the area and around specific topics.
   
   
5. Fifth, like many do an Easter sunrise service, gather the prayer walk at sunrise or sunset. Each time would symbolize the spiritual renewal of God’s presence at the beginning or end of the day. Several scriptures exist focused on prayer in the morning or the evening, and you can print those out or share in text for people to repeat or a guide while they pray aloud. This approach could be great for hikes or walking in nature, allowing people to connect with God and praise him while in his creation.
   
   

With creativity, we can turn a prayer walk into a unique and powerful experience that brings our church community into unity and impacts our city or town. Whatever the model, prayer walks strengthen faith and invite God’s presence into the world around us. 

Peace. 

Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Rawpixel