How to Lead a Prayer Walk

A prayer walk is a form of intercession. However, the difference is that instead of a prayer team staying in one room and praying to God with closed eyes and heads bowed down, they are basically in a specific location, walking around while praying at the same time. The Christians who are praying are right at the location where their intercession is needed. Prayer walks are something that most churches do, and they are considered a part of their ministry. After all, just as we do everything to preach the Gospel to the lost, we should intercede for all people just as God commanded us to do.

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men

[1 Timothy 2:1]

There are benefits when it comes to doing prayer walks. Compared to just interceding from afar, you directly see what you are interceding for when you do a prayer walk. For example, let’s say you are interceding for a particular campus in your city. It is different when you are on the campus itself, praying for it while you walk around the campus, seeing the students, the faculty, and everything else. You get to see what you are interceding for as you walk around observing things.

Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.

[Mark 11:24]

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

[Philippians 4:6]

Pray without ceasing.

[1 Thessalonians 5:17]

However, it is essential to note that a prayer walk does not make it more potent than interceding privately from within a room. Whether you intercede during a prayer walk or while you and your prayer team are in a prayer room, your prayers all carry the same weight and power. The only difference is that you get to see directly what you intercede for in a prayer walk.

How do you start a prayer walk?

Doing a prayer walk does not necessarily have to be done by your church’s prayer ministry. You and other Christians can initiate it yourselves. The first thing you should do is gather people or organize a team. As you gather people, you also need to pay attention to the number of people who will join you. While it is good that many Christians want to join the prayer walk because it shows their heart to minister and intercede, having too many people may unwisely attract attention and, worse, even keep you from entering the place where you want to walk around. Imagine if you want to do a prayer walk on campus, and suddenly a group of fifty people wants to go inside. Depending on the place, keep the number of people reasonable. However, if there are too many people, you can divide them into teams so each team can go to a different location to do a prayer walk.

You can make good use of the social media at your disposal. With today’s social media, information spreads faster than ever. You can post about the prayer walk that you are planning to do and mention you are looking for fellow Christians to join, or you can even message people and have group chats about it. Utilize social media to make the gathering of volunteers easier.

Another thing to keep in mind is that you should also inform those who want to join the prayer walk to be punctual. Everyone should respect each other’s time. Some may have something to do after the prayer walk, and if others are late and the prayer walk is delayed, it may affect their schedule. It is also respectful toward others who have committed and gotten to the meeting place on time. Being punctual is also very important, depending on the place. For example, let’s say you are a group of working professionals who is out of work by 5 PM, and the campus you want to do a prayer walk with closes its gates by 7 PM. You should be there by 6 PM or earlier because you won’t have enough time to do your prayer walk if you are late. Also, it would be good if you all fast as you pray and intercede for a particular place or community.

And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

[Daniel 9:3]

Lastly, ready your hearts as you are about to do a prayer walk. Pray to God that He would stir up love and compassion in you so that you are grounded in love as you pray and intercede for the place and the people. Everything we do should be motivated by our love for God and for others.

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing.

[1 Corinthians 13:2]

What do you pray during a prayer walk?

As you do your prayer walk in a particular place, you can pray for strategic locations or people. For example, going back to the example of a campus prayer walk, one of the strategic places to pray for is the university president’s office, where you can reach out to the president and the other board of trustees members. Indeed, if they are reached, the impact it would have on the university for the advancement of God’s kingdom would be tremendous.

Regardless of where you are doing your prayer walk, you can also pray for awakening and revival in the people’s hearts. You may be doing a prayer walk in a neighborhood block. In this case, you can pray for God to cause an awakening in their hearts so that they may seek God and repent. Of course, it is given that you should pray and see to it that you, as a church, shall preach the Gospel to them. Revival is something that you pray for Christians who have gone cold. One example is a Christian institution that has lost its primary goal of advancing God’s kingdom and sticking to sound biblical doctrines. Praying for revival means praying for the Christians there to repent and turn back to God.

Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost

[Titus 3:5]

And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

[Acts 17:30]

Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

[Matthew 3:8]

As you do your prayer walk, you will see that prayer needs to be addressed or interceded for. For example, if a campus lacks proper facilities for its students, you can intercede that the government provides what they need. That is one of the benefits of doing a prayer walk. You can directly see what needs to be prayed for and intercede for them. Last, pray for strongholds to be broken. Remember that we are not just fighting against human opposition but also spiritual opposition.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.

Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

[Matthew 5:13-16]

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

[Ephesians 6:12]

Heavenly Father, You are the God Who hears our prayers for mercy and grace. I pray, Father, that as I organize a prayer walk, many fellow brothers and sisters in Christ will join to pray for the place we are going. Prepare our hearts as we do our prayer walk that we would pray and intercede with love and compassion for others. I pray for good weather as we do our prayer walk and that we will be able to walk around the whole place and pray for the strategic places and people that we’ve found we can pray for. Open our eyes to their needs so that we may also include them in our prayers. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

It may only be as simple as walking around a place and praying, but something is happening in the spiritual realm. If we in Christ pray, our prayers have great power and work. This is because of the power of Christ, Who can demolish any strongholds. That is why the enemy is on the defensive, and we, the Church, are on the offensive.