Praying On Site with Insight: Naming and Claiming

Saturday, 28th April 2007

This morning, I attended the monthly ACSJ Fathers' Prayer Group and we gathered at the new premises to do a prayer walk.

We first gathered for a time of worship. Mr Peter Tan would then take us to 4 different parts of the school premises which were considered to be key areas to pray for.

At each of these 4 focal areas, the principal would brief us of the plans concerning that area, we would then break up into groups of twos or threes to commit that area to God, and then someone in the group would close us in prayer. We would then walk to the next area and repeat the steps.

The first stop was the block where the 700-hundred seater chapel would be located, and where Cairnhill Methodist Church with its current congregation of 120 would eventually worship. We prayed for the Lord to enlarge His tents by lengthening the cords and strengthening the stakes, and where many boys would encounter Jesus.

The next stop was the block where the classrooms would be located. We prayed for the teachers to have wisdom in preparing their lessons and imparting knowledge, and for the boys that they would have a holistic education which would equip them to be servant-leaders of society and the nation.

The third stop was the area where the football field was located. Here we prayed that the boys would excel in their co-curricular activities to bring glory to Jesus.

Last but not least, we were brought to the admin block, where we prayed for the principal, vice-principals and heads of department that they would continue to serve the LORD mightily.

There is no biblical example of a prayer walk. Parallels can however be drawn from the incident recorded in Joshua where the Israelites walked around the city of Jericho for seven days in order to claim the city for themselves.

Praywalking has been termed "praying on site with insight". It is a means by which we show God that we are serious in commiting that item or event for His glory. We name what our requests are, and then claim the results by faith.

I have heard of cases where intercessors would go to the venue where a evangelistic rally was to be held to commit the event to the Lord and to claim a bountiful harvest.

Likewise, I have also heard of cases where Christians working in the same company would conduct a prayer walk around the office building (not so much for the walls of the building to collapse a la Jericho, but to claim the company for Jesus).

Alternatively, they would gather either before or after office hours to go from cubicle to cubicle (or from room to room) to pray specifically for each and every one of their colleagues.

Because the Lord sees how serious we are, the results He gives will be beyond our expectations.

Shalom
Malcolm