Walking and Praying

I had a great time going for a walk in the Homewood neighborhood of Pittsburgh this morning. I paid particularly close attention to everything that I experienced on the walk, from the people we met to the homes, commercial buildings, abandoned houses, beautiful buildings like the library and some churches, to the trash and graffiti. Julie and I had some interesting conversations. Our friend Dave cooks food out in front of a local BBQ restaurant each morning, and he knows pretty much everything that's going on in our neighborhood. We pass strangers, and since we now have a dog with us most of the time the people we pass often stop us to inquire about her. Who would have known that for all of the trouble of having a puppy, that she would be such a huge conversation starter with trying to build new relationships with people in Homewood?

There is simply no substitute for walking around a neighborhood to get a feel for the people and places there. Many people want to start programs or help out in places like Homewood without actually going there to get a feel for what it's like. My walks in Homewood, mixed with the time I spend in people's houses or schools, are extremely beneficial to my work. I also love walking in Homewood because it gives me a chance to pray specifically for issues in a more effective way. I always assume that God is at work here, and that if I have the right prayerful posture before God then he will show me how we wants to work through me to achieve his purposes. Prayer closets and quiet times in peoples' houses are great, but the complexities of urban ministry also require that we contextualize our prayers with what's really happening in the city. Prayer walking is a healthy way to actively immerse ourselves in the transformation of people and places.

With so many crazy things happening in this world, what can we as Christians possibly do? How about we start by taking a walk? Let's start with prayers, and ask the Lord to show us what he wants us to do. Before we search for answers, let's let our hearts break for the brokenness that we can experience by walking through a struggling neighborhood. Let's assume that God is already at work where we are walking, and that he might have a plan for us there. Let's get to know some people before we plan programs. Let's take it to the streets!

We should pray specifically for a movement in our cities, and not just for small pockets of growth. Tim Keller writes, "A city-wide gospel movement is an organic thing. It's an energy unleashed across not only the city but across the different denominations, and therefore, there's no one church, no one organization, no one leader in charge of it all. It's bigger than that. It's the Holy Spirit moving across the whole city and as a result the overall body of Christ is growing faster than the population, and the city is being reached. And there's an impact for Christ made in the whole city." - To Transform a City