[ walk your talk by graham kendrick ]

We sing about victory, but will we pray about it? Graham Kendrick calls us to prayerwalk.

Can you imagine waking up one morning knowing that every breathing person in your town had been prayed for in just the way God wanted to hear? Dare to think of it: what kinds of things might happen on such a day? How much room would God have to work in a prayed-for city?

Only a few years ago it might have seemed like a wildly over-spiritual thing to even attempt. But God has surprised us.

Here in the UK, the growth of commitment to town-wide prayer has spawned many initiatives, not least the March for Jesus Operation A to Z on 20 May. This involves several million homes being personally prayed for and leafleted in a single hour. In fact, this kind of mobile intercession is fast becoming an established method of prayer internationally.

We are seeing God stir Christians to pray with determined passion for their communities in an 'up close and personal' way. We are praying huge, 'city-size' prayers in the very places we are expecting God to answer us. Christ is impelling us to close even the physical gap in our love and prayer for our cities. Somehow when we pray for people within eyesight our hearts are better able to sense both their heartache and God's heartbeat.

It's not new to pray in proximity, but we find ourselves so pressed to cover our communities with blessing that we might need a new word to describe this fresh move of intercession. Perhaps the best word is prayerwalking. We define prayerwalking as 'praying on-site with insight'.

Most prayerwalking is a low profile affair: Friends walk two-by-two through their neighbourhoods quietly directing their conversational prayers for the homes and people they see. Praying Christians usually find ways to be on the scene without making a scene - in the public square without being in the public eye.

Prayerwalking gives us a way to join together in persistent blessing for our cities 365 days a year. March for Jesus events are strategically scheduled long months apart. But families and small bands of prayerwalking friends can quietly call out prayers for their city every day

For years Donn and Cynthia Long, of Cedar Park, Texas, have prayerwalked regularly through their neighbourhood. They began by directing prayer for 28 homes. They eventually came to learn the names and needs of their neighbours. Within six months of beginning their prayer, an evangelistic Bible study was born which eventually multiplied into three groups in three different homes, helping several unchurched people to follow Christ. New residents are prayed for before they even move in.

One church in San Francisco prayed a blessing on every home in the entire city in forty days. Pairs of prayerwalkers physically touched the door of every dwelling in town. They are prayerwalking the city for a second time, leaving a note saying: 'We wish to thank you for letting us pray for your home. The Lord spoke to our pastor and said we should pray a blessing on every single home in the city of San Francisco. God is bringing a Christian renewal to our city and you are part of it.' Learning to pray on-site with insight can help you in at least four ways.

Thaw the ice in your neighbourhood.

Most Christians sincerely want to serve their neighbours. But many feel frozen from extending their witness or service for fear that neighbours might be offended. Prayerwalking provides a quiet way to help people while gradually coming to understand and care for them. The climate of steady prayer can warm the atmosphere of friendship. Hearts opened by prayer can lead to doors opened for God's healing touch.

Overcome fear of the troubled parts of your area

Most believers are genuinely concerned about their locality but find themselves inhibited by fears and habits of isolation. Why endure the unsettled feeling that you donÕt belong in your own area? Or the nagging guilt that you should do something? We all sense that God's healing for wounded towns won't come from quarantining ourselves away from our own places, but most believers don't know where to start. Prayerwalking provides a way to re-enter your locality with godly confidence. Prayerwalkers find that they belong to the places they pray for.

Contend with evil

Many Christians feel besieged by evil. Rising crime and open hostility to Christ appear to be energised by stubborn spiritual evil. Prayerwalking provides a way to wage some of the necessary spiritual war with your feet literally on the ground. It makes biblical sense to step out from a defensive, fortress mentality and come physically near to the people whom we know God longs to redeem.

Progress in prayer

Most Christians sincerely desire to pray more. But who hasn't found it hard to build a life of prayer? Prayerwalking offers struggling intercessors one stimulating way to stretch themselves in prayer. One leader who organises dozens of young Christians in regular prayerwalks said, 'It's one of the few ways we've found to break the boredom people feel trying to stay alone in the prayer closet. If they prayerwalk awhile, they get stirred up to go after every sort of prayer.'

God may well call you to organise prayerwalks right in your own community. Join with other believers. Together seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and insight as He helps you breathe the blessing of God on your neighbours.