Try Prayer Walking

 

This month walk with me in learning about Prayer Walking Only 10 minutes from downtown Chattanooga, our Lookout Valley is a sleepy little suburb of Chattanooga with about 6000 residents. One big supermarket, one High School and Elementary School, one Thai food place (that's great), and two Chinese (which are terrible). Six fast food joints, two bars, and one CBD store. This is where I've begun to prayer walk this year. Prayer walking is a type of intercessory prayer that involves walking in a particular place while praying. As we prayer walk, our prayers extend beyond your own concerns, focusing directly on the needs of others and opening yourself to see them with God’s eyes and heart. Prayer walks are a means of asking God to give us a heart for your neighborhood, city, and land.  It gives us a concrete means of doing something for the well-being of our town as we ask the Holy Spirit to pray through us as we observe the world around you. Before heading out for a prayer-walk ask God to give insight into what other's needs might be. Your heart will be moved to pray for the things you see during the walk. Full article from the CS Lewis Institute Have you thought much about what YOUR "patch" is? Whether it's the square footage of your apartment, your street or office, or something much larger, God invites us to be intentional about spiritually cultivating that place. We do this in work, service, engagement somehow; but also in prayer. If you haven't really thought about it, I'll bet it wouldn't be too hard for you to figure it out. I would love to know what it is for you. At the end of last year my Novo team challenged one another to identify the "patch" that the Lord has invited us to spiritually garden. Many of us have spent years in foreign places. We find ourselves now in the USA applying a missionary perspective to the place we find ourselves. Starting in January, each month we have chosen a different cultural topic (ie. Government, Education, Families, etc). In a posture of prayer, we take the month to listen and learn more about the places where we live/serve, go to some of those places and pray. During the month we will often create something, capture images, or write something. Then, on the 3rd Thursday (10:30AM EST) we meet by Zoom to compare notes, learn from, and inspire each other. The Makers Space has started to grow beyond Novo colleagues. One of my Singapore artistic friends joining the calls from a little village in Germany where she lives now. If you're curious about it, and want to know more, please let me know.  Here are some of my "creations" that you might enjoy too:   Prayer Walking Playlists Below are links to playlists on music streaming platforms. The lyrics of the songs are prayers for others, or proclaiming who God is. All suitable lyrics for praying for places as you walk or drive through your "patch." YouTube* Spotify Playlist Amazon Music   A Guide to get started Here's a link to download a 5 page Prayer Walking Booklet. Jim and I now have a regular date (once a month) to explore Lookout Valley with others. This booklet helps participants feel more prepared. I'll also repeat the workshop from March again in July. Here's another booklet that might inspire you to enlist saints who may feel set aside because life is keeping them stuck at home: Prayer Walking for the Homebound. I made a set of 30 printed photos to inspire them as they pray with visual reminders of the familiar places in our community. Lord guide and go with us as we begin to visit believers in Lookout Valley who are shut-ins. For Ashley, a young mom in my church, who will be going with me, may this be a special time of ministering and mentoring. Inspire us all to pray more earnestly and offensively for the places where we live. Give us eyes to see the spiritual needs, and wisdom how to meet them. AMEN. Family News Tyler's been in Asia making us all homesick. Cameron called me today from Austin, TX where he lives. He confirmed again: the Singapore photos Tyler's sent our family chat even got him choked up. The Asia Adventure started out in Singapore staying with the Wuus. Sally and Franklin are the closest Singaporean Aunt and Uncle he has. Our 3 Wuu godchildren finally learned that Tyler was a REAL person, and not just a photograph. Twelve years after he left for University,Ty revisited important places from his childhood. He's been in Thailand with an Army friend for a week, and off to 7+ weeks in Taiwan. He'll get some Chinese language cultural immersion with some divine appointments we're all still marveling at. He'll get to play wing man to @yvonnejiann @taiwanocc and some other missionaries in Taipei. Then hel'll be back to Singapore again to be a tourist with another <3 Army friend. We have all LOVED being this being his base camp for a year. His last Global Nomad adventure will end when he moves back to Columbia, SC for an MBA in International Business. Graduate School starts the end of July. Rejoice with us that his "Year of Discernment" ends with clear direction from the Lord. Jim and I just enjoyed a weekend with his Creasman cousins in Savannah, GA for the memorial of on of their dear cousins Janet. For this only child from California, Jim is thrilled with these opportunities to grow closer to his family here in the Southeast. I always look forward to hearing how God is working in your life too! Kimberly Creasman *The YouTube QR code above takes you to mine and Jim's recent favs. I have playlists of other genres of worship music that are suitable songs for prayer walking. You can search of them in my YouTube account. Search for them in YouTube @KimberlyCreasman.  "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (The Bible, New Testament. Ephesians chapter 2, verse 10)