by Steve Lawton at the Stanford Boiler Room
When we first started prayer walking a year and a half or so ago, I don’t think this was even a dream.
As we kicked off the evening 20 or so pray-ers turned up at transit tower to invest something into our tinny, seemingly insignificant town.
The hope when we started was to take prayer out of the prayer room and onto the streets. To prepare the ground and to sow. And that we did.
All this time later it seemed fitting to end our 2nd round of prayer walking with something significant.
As we began, we heard about sowing, about how seeds can living in the ground undeterred but when the waters come, it all kicks off.
We read how we can prepare the ground, we can sow, and we have, but ultimately its God that does the growing. We heard a Jesus story about the importance to persist in prayer, to cry out day and night. And so we prayed, and we asked for rain.
Then we took it to the street.
An air of nervous excitement hovered as our usual team of 6 or 7 had turned into an army marching out on Corringham town. Our first testimony of the night came in the form of Turkish fast food. Our local friend Ramos came to see what the commotion was about and on hearing we were out to pray he had no hesitation in asking for prayer.
We descended on the park with two aims. To lift up our prayers to God and to shine a light over our town. We opened up lanterns and began to put our heart cries into words that would soon hover high above the town for all to see. Some local boys seemed excited to join in and they too opened their hearts and wrote ‘make Corringham town better’. I’m sure they don’t know what they have let themselves in for but am confident that God will have his own way of answering that prayer.
Then, out of the night emerged a good and old friend, someone who had been around from the beginning. Someone who had received some seed and we are waiting, praying and hoping for the fruit. Sean his girlfriend and his nephew having brought their own lanterns, unphased by the weirdness of the situation joined right in. We wrote the names of their families on the lanterns and simply asked God to bless them. As those simple prayers took flight I can’t help but wonder how God might bring that to being.
I once wrote a blog called What Happens When We Pray. In response I’m still not quite sure, I’m sure Ramos didn’t anticipate asking for blessing to result in 20 or so pray-ers pouring into his cafe to end the evening and I wait expectantly to see what happens with Sean and with Corringham.
One thing I know is, that heart cry’s were lifted up high up for all to see. They don’t go unnoticed, maybe we they don’t get answered how we want or anticipate. But God hears, his heart connects his power is available and we join together with that great cloud of witness’s and cry C’mon!!!!!!
Thank you so much for your support. Prayer walking will continue, it may take a different form but watch this space for more info. If you have been stirred to invest prayer into this town please continue on this journey with us. It is soooooo worth it.
‘…and will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?’ Luke 18:7,8
