‘Walking’ with the Lord 

Over the past decades my relationship with my Heavenly Father has been marked by a series of walks. Starting in my young adult years, I began regularly prayer walking, sometimes alone with God, and sometimes together with other disciples. This routine continues today.
When my daughter started year 11, I took her with me on the walk. For half an hour each day, we would meander the streets of our suburb, lifting up our requests to God. Our prayers in those initial years often featured the theme of her schoolwork. Since then, our prayers have evolved to feature just about everything. From strength for our daily tasks to future hopes and dreams, from members of our small group to the people of this world, we have shared every concern with God and with one another. I want to share with you, my brothers and sisters, what a life-giving, soul-changing experience this has been.
The Bible is filled with references to walking. From the book of Genesis, we see Adam and Eve walking with God in the garden. Psalms and Proverbs overflow with the language of walking, such as “he will make straight your paths” (Proverbs 3:6), or “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked” (Psalm 1:1). Paul urges us in 2 Corinthians 5:7 to “walk by faith, not by sight.” These allusions remind us that our faith is meant to be as dynamic as walking.
For me, prayer walking is a physical reminder to also exercise my “spiritual muscles.” As I walk in prayer, I am prompted to reflect on whether my faith is growing.
The beauty of having maintained this habit for several years is that my daughter and I have witnessed growth in one another. Not only have the topics of our prayer expanded to focus more on others than ourselves, our faith has also been strengthened as we have seen God answer our prayers. We have prayed for family members and friends to know Christ, and seen them baptised. We have prayed for healing in relationships, and seen God work miracles of reconciliation. What a mysterious and glorious thing prayer is – God’s invitation for us to participate in His kingdom work.
While I adore my quiet times alone with the Lord, there is something special about prayer walking with my daughter. Everyone has spiritual highs and lows, and prayer walking together has enabled each of us to encourage the other through difficult times. We remind one another of God’s answers to our prayers in the past, and spur each other on to continue praying bold prayers. Our prayer for you today is that you may also share in this blessing with yourselves, and with a brother or sister in Christ!
Wis Shih
Wis is a Life Groups Pastor at Crossway Church