A New Way of Prayer Walking

​PRAYER WALKING

Left, right … left, right …  I remember the gravel crunching under my feet …

Left, right …  left, right …  I can almost smell the acrid diesel engine smoke from the nearby train …

Left, right … left, right …  I can feel the sun’s warmth stirring new growth around me.

As I worked through the homework my counselor had given me, longings were stirred deeply within me. She had told me about studies showing that remembering a pleasant situation would stir those same endorphins that had been stirred at the initial event. Then, another therapist told me other studies revealed that remembering a particular left-right physical movement could improve the brain’s tolerance of “referred pain” and calm over-stimulated nerve fibers.

I knew that memories could be helpful, but all I could think was how much I missed being out in nature, how much I missed praying with God as I walked my neighborhoods, and how much I missed sharing those prayer times with friends. Since chronic illness had hindered my ability to walk, sitting in my chair and looking out the windows had become my main connection with nature.

It had not always been that way. In fact, when I studied the Spiritual Disciplines as a young adult, I was surprised to find that my usual way of meeting with God in nature had a name: Prayer Walking. Stunned, I learned that my walking through the neighborhood and listening for God’s prayer prompts was a learned discipline for many people.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7)

A TIME OF REMEMBERING

However, now I felt God’s gift of seeing His beauty and communing with Him while walking had been stolen from me. How could God have allowed that beautiful way of connecting with Him to be removed?

His answer included another question: Could I look back and remember the gifts I had been given?

So I began, moving backward through the years…

Left, right … left, right …  the gravel crunched under my feet as I slowly walked down the steep roadway in our new small-town neighborhood. The scenery was gorgeous as I looked down at the lake from one direction and then turned to face the hillside in the other direction.

However, I could not understand the ways of thinking in this new town. “Change your perspective,” I heard the Lord’s whisper. “As you lift your eyes to this hillside, lift your spiritual eyes to MY higher view.” My heart was suddenly stirred with compassion for people I had only begun to know.

Oh Lord, show me ways to see Your love right here …

Left, right … left, right… I smelled the diesel engines as I approached the clustered train tracks. A discouraging day with teens at home had driven me to a late-night walk while my family slept. Self-condemnation came at me viciously, and for a moment, I caught myself contemplating the tracks before me. What if…? Rushing into those thoughts came the firm and loving mercy of my Savior. Suddenly, my heart was filled with understanding for those despairing teens who faced a world of unknowns.

Oh Lord, be their rescue too!

Left, right … left, right … the springtime melt had begun. I could smell the new growth budding near the rivers running down the road as my toddler son eagerly jumped in the puddles. His enthusiasm for life sparked this Mama’s prayer for lasting joy in his life.

Oh Lord, preserve his heart of joy when troubles rise …

A NEW WAY OF PRAYER WALKING

As I finished the counselor’s exercise to remember, I somehow knew that God had meant more: every gift He gave me as I walked and prayed was never forgotten in His great storehouse. He wanted me to know that every time I longed to be able to walk and pray again, all I had to do was to call upon HIS secure memory. Nothing that is given to His safekeeping will ever be entirely lost. Our prayers rise before His throne and last for eternity.

And another angel came and stood at the altar with a golden censer, and he was given much incense to offer with the prayers of all the saints on the golden altar before the throne, and the smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the saints, rose before God from the hand of the angel. (Revelation 8:3-4)

…and the beauty that sits right outside my window? It calls me to remember those moments of prayer in the past while finding a new way of praying in the present moments of my days.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)

PRAYER

Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for the gifts You have showered on and around us in this world You have created. Forgive us for ignoring Your faithful presence among us. O Lord, open the eyes of our hearts to see Your beauty! Open our spiritual ears to hear the prayers and praise You call forth from deep within our souls. We worship You and give You our praise as we stand in awe of Your loving mercy over us. In the name of Your son Jesus, we pray, amen.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION

• Find a window in your home that faces out upon the world. Can you see a gift from the Father there? Maybe it’s only a passing squirrel or flying bird, but try thanking God for this moment’s gift.
• If you have a little more strength, find a chair outside on a patio or porch to listen for God’s call to prayer. Perhaps it will come through the beauty of a blooming flower placed carefully by a loved one who also needs your prayers today.
• If you can walk, can you don your hiking shoes and take a walk with your Heavenly Father? He created this world for you! Perhaps He wants you to find a new neighborhood waiting to be explored in His presence.

INVITATION

For more helpful ideas and beautiful Scriptures, check out Chronic Joy’s free printables Wonder Walks: A Prayer Guide and Wonder Walks: Trail Signs. These great resources can get you started on your own Prayer Walking adventure.