By Tony Martin and Tammy Anderson
One viable and sometimes overlooked ministry in the Christian life is that of prayerwalking. In a recent dialogue, The Baptist Record and Tammy Anderson, Executive Director-Treasurer, Woman’s Missionary Union and Women’s Ministries of Mississippi, discussed the nature and value of prayerwalking.
The Baptist Record (BR): What is prayerwalking? How would you define it?
Tammy Anderson (TA): Prayerwalking is praying on-site with insight. Prayerwalking can be done with your eyes open as you walk. Of course, you can stop along the way and pray with your eyes closed if that is preferred. When you are prayerwalking, the Holy Spirit can use what you see, hear, touch and experience to guide your prayers.
BR: Why prayerwalk? Why not just pray privately, or as a group at the church?
TA: Prayerwalking is spiritual work. Our prayers are most effective when we are spiritually prepared and strategically ready. Praying on-site helps us to connect in a deeper way with those in which we are praying. When we are on a school campus and we see school lockers and desk we think of students and their daily routines. When we see chalkboards or the teacher’s lounge we think of teachers and all that goes into lesson plans. When we are in a cafeteria we think of those working in the kitchen. If we can only walk around the outside of a school building, we can still allow all that we see and experience on-site to prompt our prayers.
BR: Can you think of any times that prayerwalking benefited the people participating, or how prayerwalking made a difference in someone else’s life?
TA: Through prayerwalking, we lay a spiritual foundation for God to do His work. Prayerwalking acknowledges our dependence on God for results. In some of the most difficult areas of the world, our missionaries ask for prayerwalking teams before any other type of work is begun. They have shared stories of how the devils strongholds have been broken down allowing God’s work to move forward. While a student attending seminary in New Orleans, one of our NAMB missionaries shared with me about an inner city community where police were afraid to go because of the drug dealers and gangs. The women in the community started claiming their community through prayerwalking and overtime things changed and now it’s a safe place to live. These women acknowledged that it was the power of prayer that made the difference.
BR: What are some suggestions as to places to prayerwalk?
TA: Prayerwalking can take place in any physical location where there is a need for spiritual intercession. I’ve known people to prayerwalk schools, neighborhoods, churches, hospitals, police/fire stations, parks, etc.
BR: Who are good candidates for prayerwalkers? Children? Students? Adults? Are there certain age-appropriate ways to prayerwalk?
TA: Almost any age can prayerwalk. This is an interactive way to teach someone to pray specifically and strategically. You can be creative in prayerwalking and involve people with physical limitations or to cover difficult terrain. Prayerwalking can also be accomplished by “prayer-biking,” “prayer-driving,” and even “prayer-splashing.” That’s right, we had a WMU event on the coast a few years ago and had a boat tour that took us along the coastline. We prayed for all those living and working along the coast and especially for those working on the water in different ways. I’ve also known of groups who have done “virtual” prayerwalking by using pictures of locations. The main idea is to allow the Holy Spirit to use multiple senses/experiences to guide your prayers.
Prayerwalking can be done by an individual or in pairs of two. When walking in pairs, each person takes a turn to pray. With the current circumstances, people can determine how to best prayerwalk locations of interests. With some planning, prayerwalking should be possible and allow participants to abide by CDC guidelines.
BR: Anything else you’d like to add?
TA: Praying scripture over a location and people is a great way for beginners to learn to prayerwalk. The Mississippi WMU/Women’s Ministries webpage has some prayerwalking instructions and helps provided by Prayer Closet Ministries. These resources can be printed and used to prayerwalk schools or other locations. To see these resources go to https://www.mbcb.org/womans-missionary-union/prayer/
School administrations, teachers, staff and students are all facing difficulties as they endeavor to start this school year. Mississippi Baptist churches and WMU groups are seeking was to encourage and support schools in their local area. We recommend that they consider prayerwalking schools in their communities as opportunities allow. Leaders should always contact a school or business before attempting to prayerwalk those locations.
BR: What resources, other than those you’ve mentioned, are available?
TA: Mississippi WMU/WM is available to assist churches/groups with their prayerwalking ministry. Contact Tammy Anderson, MS WMU/Women’s Ministries, at 601-292-3323 or tanderson@mbcb.org.
