The power in a prayer walk

Today was the kick off for SHOUT's weekly prayer walking. Seventeen of us divided into foursomes, and armed with grocery sacks for litter pick-up, we headed off in opposite directions to pray through the neighbhorhood of Harvest Vineyard for an hour. Our group prayed for Faith Baptist Temple, Boys n' Girls Club, and when we found some of the moms and kids outside of House of Hope, we stopped to talk with them. I was with Brion, who already knew two people on the street before we even got two blocks into our prayer walk. Brion was given the gift of evangelism by the Holy Spirit, and he very naturally picks up conversation and asks people if they want prayer. We ended up praying in a circle around the House of Hope with some of the moms and kids, and then we were off down the street praying over Family Video, homes and families, triangle park, PayDay Loans, and the firestation. We ended up at Lincoln Park praying for the upcoming Picnics in the Park. We encountered seven people on the park benches, and again, Brion announced that we were praying and asked if they'd like prayer. One of the men on the benches announced that he was a pastor, and he wanted to lead the prayer. So, there we were in a circle being led in prayer by a man who sounded very much like he knew the Word of God, but who appeared as if he was not at this time in his life walking in the Word of God. We stayed in the park for some time...ministering, praying, listening, and talking with people about God's care and God's Word. One man even came back with us to our re-grouping time at Harvest.

What an amazing experience it was to have these encounters with people today. We also heard from other groups...one group encountered a woman outside of her home who needed help getting in her house and getting to a phone. Another group walked by Quakerdale where one of the pray-ers ran into a student he had met at East High, and he had a chance to hear a little of this student's troubles, another group went into the neighborhood liquor store to share that they were praying and to engage in conversation with people. Most of the groups encountered people on the streets for whom they prayed or gave some encouragement in Christ today.

This was just a vivid reminder today of the power of being out among the people. Listening to them, praying for them, and boldly sharing Christ throughout the neighborhood was a powerful experience today.