Prayer Walk!

In Paul’s letter to the Christians at Thessalonica, he urged…
“(17) PRAY WITHOUT CEASING,” ( 1 Thessalonians 5:17 ESV)

In the Greek, this short verse is only two words: “adialeiptos proseuchesthe”, “unceasingly pray”. Paul was exhorting toward a prayerful spirit as we go through life. Prayer is to be CONSTANTLY RECURRING as we go about our day to day activities. Prayer is to be a vital part of life’s daily walk! Though there are times when we ought to completely stop our activities, get on our knees, bow our heads, and close our eyes to pray that is not always necessarily the posture of prayer. Though Nehemiah had spent some time in fasting and prayer ( Nehemiah 1:4), when he was in the presence of King Artaxerxes who asked Nehemiah what he was requesting with regard to his homeland, we read that Nehemiah “prayed to the God of heaven” and then he answered the king. ( Nehemiah 2:4-5) We don’t have a picture of Nehemiah falling down in prayer, kneeling, or even turning toward Jerusalem. It appears that the prayer was simply spoken within himself as he sought courage in responding to King Artaxerxes. We should find it comforting to know that we can pray even while walking or driving (yes, please don’t close your eyes) and the prayer will be acknowledged by God even when others might not be aware we are praying. (note Matthew 6:5-6)

Yesterday as I took a seventeen mile walk in and around our town, I spent much of that time in prayer. I prayed as I often do that God would give me another focus to prepare for “teEn-MAIL”. I prayed with regard to my lessons and sermon to be shared with the congregation today. I prayed that I would share what needed to be shared and that there would be openness to the messages from God’s Word. I prayed for members of the congregation and the fellowship of ministry in which we share. I prayed for our community that those who had accepted false teaching would recognize the truth the Scriptures declare. I prayed for folks I might encounter along my walk and for words that might encourage them and also cause them to think about God and spiritual matters. I prayed for the family who just lost a teenage son to heart failure and how I might be of help through this difficult time. I prayed about my own need for growth. I prayed for those who have been absent from our fellowship and for wisdom in trying to reach out to them and help others do the same. And on and on went my prayer as I continued to walk around our community. As my walking was UNCEASING, so was my prayer.

There have been several years I have arrived at the Senior Teen Session of our Bible camp early enough to do a prayer walk around the camp. Not only have I found it helpful in preparing my own focus for the week, but it has been my special personal way of lifting before God the staff and the teens who would share the week together. My prayer walk would consist of seven circuits around the camp. On the first lap I would stop at specific points and pray toward the places where certain camp activities would take place during the week. As I would begin the other circuits around the camp facility my prayers continued for our camp director and all the responsibilities he would have through the week. I would also pray for the other staff since we would share various duties together and with regard to the lessons we had prepared to teach -- that those messages would be God’s and not our own. I would pray for the cooks giving of their time and sweat in a hot kitchen, getting up early and working through a long day so that along with the spiritual nourishment being received, our bodies would be nourished as well. On the seventh circuit of the camp (thinking of the final walk around Jericho under the leadership of Joshua) I would begin specifically praying for any barriers or walls that needed to come down -- recognizing that luggage was not the only baggage some teens might be coming with -- so that God would be able to do His work through the week in open and receptive hearts and minds of both teens and staff. I would also pray that the victories God would bring to lives during the week would continue to be ongoing even when it would be time for everyone to go back home.

“UNCEASINGLY PRAY!” May that action be associated with our daily walk in life. Such an awareness of God and reliance upon Him will do much to keep the focus of our mind and the activities of our life in sync with Him and His Will.

Have a great day KEEPING THE WALK AND PRAYER IN CHRIST CONSTANT!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Prayer