I have learned through the years that the more I pray for lost people, the more opportunities the Lord gives me to share my faith in Him. One of the challenges many of us face is that the more we are engaged in the church, the fewer pre-believers we know. Our friends are all in the church. Yet Jesus modeled being a friend of sinners.

PRAY FOR YOUR NEIGHBORS: You can pray for your neighbors by name. Bless Every Home is founded on a pattern of ministry known as “Prayer — Care — Share.” When you register on their website, they will send you the names and addresses of five of your neighbors every day. You can pray for them in your regular prayer times, or you can walk around your neighborhood and pray for them as you walk past their home, or perhaps pause and pray a blessing. As you pray, the Lord will open doors for you to share with them and to care for them and thus begin a discipling relationship. Sign up at blesseveryhome.com/.

GO FOR A WALK: When do a personal prayer walk around your neighborhood, prepare before you go. Steve Hawthorne of WayMakers has said that prayer walking is “Praying on sight with insight.” He encourages keeping one’s eyes, ears and spirit open for hints about what to pray. If you make repeated prayer walks, you will be able to notice changes in the neighborhood — new families that have moved in, children playing in the yard. Allow the Lord to speak to you about how you might minister to these neighbors. Navigators has a simple but good outline for a prayer walk that you can use personally or as a family: navigators.org/resource/prayer-walk/.

WALK AND PRAY AS A TEAM: Consider targeting a subdivision. Put together a team of people who will join you in praying for neighborhoods near the church or a targeted ministry area. If you are looking to reach a particular area of your community, consider prayer walking weekly for a season to see what insights the Lord gives you regarding the target area. What needs does He show you? What obstacles? As you divide into teams to pray for a community, it will be important for you to meet together after the prayer walk to debrief — to hear what the Lord said to other team members. WayMakers has great guidelines for prayer walking as a team:

waymakers.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/PrayerwalkGuide.pdf.

WALK AND PRAY A CAMPUS: Schools at every level are facing unprecedented challenges — from elementary school to universities. University students struggle with mental health issues. Many schools have become intentional at steering students away from Christian faith and values. If one of your burdens is education, Every Campus has an extensive prayer guide for teams of people to pray on school campuses. In some cases, you may need to seek permission. This is especially true of public schools. On major university campuses, you can likely walk and pray without being noticed. Download the Every Campus prayer walk guide: everycampus.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/EveryCampus_prayerwalkguide.pdf 

WALK AND PRAY AS A FAMILY: One of the most important practices a parent can teach their children is to pray. You can do a prayer walk with your family without leaving home. Ministry Spark has created some creative ways for families with children to teach them to pray. It is a way of keeping children engaged and teaching them that prayer doesn’t have to be on one’s knees in a bedroom. Check out this prayer guide: ministryspark.com/family-prayer-walk-coronavirus/ 

Remember: Prayer opens doors for ministry. Whether you are praying as an individual for your neighbors, as part of a group praying for a community or on a campus, or praying as a family, the Lord will open opportunities for you to be His hands and feet. Enjoy your walk!