The Prayer Walk

The principal of the Christian school at which I had the privilege of teaching gave a rundown of the year's inservices: on the agenda, A Prayer Walk.

The feeling that my spiritual understanding had not been properly nurtured in the church in which I grew up, however true or misguided, had left me with what I now recognize as an unhealthy disdain for anything smacking of "programmed" religion. Written prayers, any traditions that involved repetitive actions, anything organized, seemed to me to fall into the "vain repetitions" category Jesus warned of in Matthew 6:7. So when we were told that this Prayer Walk—a pre-planned walk with set stations prepared ahead of time—would touch and inspire us, I, doubting Thomas that I was, gave a sarcastic, "Yeah, sure."

I am eternally grateful that my scorn was expressed in thought only, in silence, and not verbalized. Because boy did I have to eat my caustic words!

The sister in the Lord who prepared said prayer walk felt called to make one and share it wherever it was asked for. Different stations referenced different precepts and names of God in the Bible. As we went from one station to the next we were encouraged to forgive, to worship God with our whole heart, etc.

At the start we were asked to take off our shoes and make the walk barefoot, in remembrance of God telling Moses to remove his sandals because the ground on which he trod was holy. My cynical self thought this was overkill, needless added drama. By station three, the tears running down my face said otherwise.

Every single one of us in that Prayer Walk felt moved by the hand of God. We were inspired to forgive, to worship, to focus on God and what He would have us do ... By the time we reached the last of the stations, each heart felt how proper it had been to have taken off our shoes.

It might have been a "programmed" walk, but there was nothing vainly repetitious about what occurred at any of the stations. Each step of the way we found a new, profound focus on God, a challenge to walk with Him as never before.

We simply cannot put God in a box. Elisha followed hard after Elijah And as he walked after him, following, persistent, seeking ... a double portion of Elijah's spirit fell on him (2 Kings 2:9-14). And, did you know? Exactly twice as many miracles for Elisha are recorded in the Bible than for Elijah. Way to go, Elisha!

So be a cut above me. Don't thumb your nose at unconventional ways to touch God or express your love for Him. If the ideas are birthed in the spirit, it will be plain—you will experience the wonderful presence of God.

There is a place for tradition. Several places in Scripture talk about not removing ancient boundaries set by our fathers. But walking with Jesus requires balance: the spiritual man should know when to stick with this precept or that one. Speaking of the source of worship, Zion, the psalmist said, "all my springs are in thee" (Psalm 87:7). A spring is not a pond. It is a living, moving thing that flows and changes, that has an eternal issue of new water. In other words, worship should not be stagnant. It flows like a spring, encompassing new songs, new words, and sometimes even new ways (like a prayer walk!). And as each component of that flowing stream sweeps over us, our spirit is lifted up by its fresh anointing and we are led to worship with a whole, undivided heart.

"Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; shall ye not know it: I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert" ((Isaiah 43:18-19).