Originally written by Betty Byrd
Because prayer is the crucial strategy for reaching the unreached, every PACE project is launched with a prayer journey. Throughout the duration of the project (remember: it’s a marathon, not a sprint!), teams return to the field to pray and pray and pray. Prayers sow the seeds for the launching of the project.
If you are involved in (or thinking about being involved in) a PACE project, you might want to begin prayer walking right now. Your first experience in such an endeavor does not have to be around the world. Instead, it can happen around the block, right where you live, as a beautiful picture of interceding before God for people right where you are – in your community and in your neighborhood, asking God to grant salvation.
Sojourn International offers a prayer-walking model which includes five things for which to pray as you walk. Here’s a summary of those five things:
- Pray for open heavens so that God would pour out His Spirit on the people who live on the streets you are walking.
- Pray for open hearts, asking God to send His Spirit to touch the hearts of the people for whom you are praying.
- Pray for open homes, crying out to God for spiritual awakening in each home you pass.
- Pray for open highways, pleading with God for the multiplication of churches in the area for which you are praying.
- Pray for open hands, asking God to make you His ambassador of compassion and kindness to those for whom you are praying.
Now, get out there and pray! Practice makes perfect! Not only will you be making a difference around the block, you will also be ready when God calls you to walk around the world.
