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On The Upper Room Discourse Re-Release For Lent 2024

PRAYER WALKING

Seven Spiritual Practices for Busy People

We have been talking about the challenge of keeping our priorities straight in this busy world.  We have looked at David, “a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), a true “Renaissance Man” who made spending time with God his number one priority:

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple (Psalm 27:4).

The “one thing” above every other thing David pursued was to live daily in God’s presence and beauty.  We have looked at the three spiritual practices that I have found helpful in living each day in the awareness of God’s presence: The Daily God Hunt; Palms Down/Palms Up; and Praying Scripture.  Today I want to commend to you Practice Four: Prayer Walking.

Practice Four: Prayer Walking

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.
I Timothy 2:1

Jesus and the Apostles did a lot of walking.  Jesus and the Apostles did a lot of praying.  And if Jesus said that we “ought always to pray” (Luke 18:1), then I have to think that they did a lot of praying as they walked.  Many people find that they do some of their best praying while walking.  Sometimes I lose my focus while praying, or I get sleepy.  Prayer Walking solves that for me.

Donald Whitney, in his book Simplify Your Spiritual Life, offers these helpful words on Prayer Walking:

The walking and the weather invigorate my sluggish soul.  Looking up into the blue or out to the horizon refreshes my sense of the greatness of God.  The sights, smells, and sounds of my Father’s world surround me with reminders of His presence.  The cadence of my pace or stopping occasionally to stare into the distance, often enables me to concentrate in prayer more easily than when I’m still and my eyes are closed.

I like to walk, and I like to pray.  Here are some things I’ve learned about Prayer Walking that I pass on to you:

  1. Begin your walk by asking the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to what He wants you to what you will see and hear as you walk.

  2. Greet anyone you meet along the way, breathing up a blessing for them.

  3. Pray for your neighbors as you pass their homes; the ones where you know there is sickness, unemployment, loneliness, discord, etc.

  4. Keep all your senses alert to any sight, sound, or scent you encounter in the Father’s world.  Talk with God about what you are observing.

  5. Make room for silence as you make room for the Holy Spirit to speak to you, and think His thoughts through you.

  6. Pray for any school or church you might pass.

  7. As you walk remember the basics of prayers, ACTS: Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication.

If you already walk for exercise or recreation, why not turn it into Prayer Walking this week.  If you are not walking, how about going for some walks just for the sole purpose of praying.  And sometimes, take another with you as you walk and pray together.

Grace and peace,
Tim

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