What is a Neighborhood Prayer Walk?
It’s not just walking around. It’s not just praying. It’s walking through your neighborhood or “parish” praying with your eyes and your heart wide open. It’s noticing signs of hope and signs of need, and how God calls you to be present to both. Take a walk. Listen closely. Pay attention. Offer prayer. Take pictures. Maybe even video. Notice what God is up to. Then re-imagine how you could join God and join your neighbors.
Community Observation Guide
On your walk look for evidence of the following:
• People groups: Who is standing at bus stops, hanging on street corners, going into businesses, playing in parks, waiting in line at the store? How much do people interact with one another?
• Places of activity: Cafes, shopping plazas, heavily trafficked intersections, playgrounds, schools?
• Structures: What are the types and conditions of the structures (homes, businesses, roads, parks)? How much “free space” is there in the community? What is the mix of private and public space?
• Services: Where do people go to shop, eat, study, worship, and receive assistance? What appears to be the quantity and quality of available services? Who provides services, and who is receiving?
• Signs of change: Note businesses opening or closing; housing under construction, for sale, or being demolished. See languages on shop signs, and buildings used differently from their original purpose.
• Signs of hope: Where do you see evidence of God’s grace and God’s people at work? Look for churches and nonprofit organizations, playing children, uplifting artwork, faith symbols, social gatherings, gardens. Look especially for local assets that could be connected with neighborhood needs.
• Signs of need: Look for evidence of hardship, hurt or injustice. Is what you see specific to particular areas or affecting the neighborhood as a whole? Be aware that marginalized people and social problems are often hidden, especially in communities that appear well-off.
How Should We Pray?
• Pray for discernment – Seek the gift of seeing the community through Christ’s “lens,” and to discern what God is already doing there; ask God to show you how you can pray with greater insight for the people, events, and places in the community.
• Pray for blessings – Pray for every person, home, school, business and situation you encounter.
• Pray with empathy – See and feel what your neighbors live with every day; offer intercession for signs of brokenness and give thanks to God for the blessings and gifts in the community.
• Pray from Scripture – Prayers based directly on God’s word can be especially powerful. You might start with Jeremiah 29:5-7; Luke 10:1-2; Mark 12:30-31; or Revelation 21:3-5a.
• Pray in God’s power – Allow times of silence for God’s spirit to speak to you, or through you.
Adapted from https://episcopalchurch.org/files/attached-files/neighborhood_prayer_walks_tec.pdf
