Prayer Walking with Chet

Last night, I went on a "prayer walk" through the neighborhood with my

friend Chet.  I’ve recently decided to go for a prayer walk with anyone

interested in joining me almost every night at 9:30.  It was deeply

encouraging to have Chet share his growing resonance with what we are

doing and hoping to do in the future. 

It is amazing how a simple walk

with simple prayer can draw people into a deeper awareness of God’s heart

for a neighborhood. 

Walking around the neighborhood at night allows us to see things as they

really are–with all of reality’s grit and challenge.  It allows us to

move beyond the romanticism of urban ministry (which many people outside

of the urban areas seem to have) to the gritty reality.  Adding prayer to

the walking helps us to embrace that reality while simultaneously give us

a vision for how God wants to transform that reality.  Without God-given

vision all we can see is the grim reality of a neighborhood that won’t

easily yield to sown seed.  Eyes of faith are required.  And so, praying

on location is an important precursor to missional engagement; it helps us

see that the fields are ready for harvest, no matter how hard the soil may

be.

Matthew 9:35-38

³⁵Jesus went through all the towns and
villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the
kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. ³⁶When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. ³⁷Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. ³⁸Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

The next thing Jesus did was to send out the 12.  Mission begins with kingdom eyes.

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