A prayer initiative which began in Abbotsford last year has now spread to Vancouver, Burnaby and south Surrey.
Here is how organizers describe it:
Dozens of churches are involved, with members promising to walk and pray for streets in their communities.
“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. . . .” – Luke 18:1 NIV
Most followers of Jesus acknowledge that prayer is essential to our personal walk with Jesus and with God working in our communities.
The Prayer Walk is a simple way for believers to engage in this sometimes neglected practice. It is encouraging to pray, knowing that others of different ages and denominations from all over your city are also praying at the same time in the same way. It is the kind of unity God blesses.
“What if we could cover every street of our city with prayer!” This Prayer Walk was birthed as an idea that emerged out of an early morning prayer meeting in Abbotsford in the spring of 2020. What began in one city has now grown in 2021 to four: Abbotsford, Burnaby, South Surrey and Vancouver.
There are many churches participating in this interdenominational initiative. We are excited to see how God will use this expansion of united prayer for His purposes and glory.
You can engage in the Prayer Walk as an individual or in a group. It is also a great family activity; a way for parents to model prayer with their kids in a way that their children can be active as opposed to ‘sitting still.’
The beauty of the Prayer Walk is that we can pray outside with insight as we walk and take the time to observe the places in front of us. Pay attention to what you see and ask God for wisdom as to how to pray. If walking is too difficult or if the street seems too long, feel free to adapt and drive. The most important thing is to pray.
To help unify our prayers, we are praying along the general themes of blessing and breakthrough.
Examples / primers for prayer
Short:
Father, would You bless and break through in this neighbourhood. Cause Your name to be hallowed, Your kingdom to come and Your will to be done on this street as it is in heaven.
Extended:
Father, we pray that You would bless the homes and places (eg. businesses, parks, schools, etc.) on this street today. Bless them with the revelation of You that turns us away from sin to a reconciled relationship with You. Bless each home with relationships of peace. Bless in health and strength. Bless with provision and safety. Bless with protection from all evil and harm.
God, we ask that You would break through in this neighbourhood. We pray that You would deliver each one from any and every barrier or stronghold that hinders them from knowing You and experiencing Your love.
In place of walls of pride and hardness of hearts, we pray Your humility and tenderness. In place of broken family units, we pray for Your restoration. In place of addiction, may people experience Your deliverance and freedom. In all places of hurt and injustice, break through, God, so that they may know Your healing and transformation.
May Your name be lifted high, Your kingdom come and Your will be done here on this street as it is in heaven, for Your honour and glory, forever and ever, Amen!
FAQs
This map shows the Vancouver streets already signed up for. There’s still lots of choice.
We’ve tried to anticipate some of your questions, even the obvious ones to make things as clear as possible.
Do I have to wait till September 26 to pray for my street?
You know the answer to this one, right? (We thought we’d get the most obvious one out of the way 😊). By all means pray now, but let’s be sure to pray each day during the week of focused prayer from Sunday September 26 to Saturday October 2.
Are others praying for the same street?
Potentially, yes. What a great way for the body of Christ to come together in unity! However, we have limited signups to three entries per street until all the streets of our city have been committed to be covered in prayer.
How can I hear about or share what God is doing through this?
We’d love to hear your stories. Send via email to [email protected]. You can also connect on Facebook facebook.com/prayerwalkcanada and Instagram @prayerwalkcanada.
How many streets are there in my city?
Approximately 918 in Vancouver.
Do I have to walk my street? What about those long streets?
It’s amazing what you see as you walk through a neighbourhood. As you walk, you may also ‘bump into’ people, opening up an opportunity to pray for them. However, God’s response to prayer is not limited to us walking. If you need to pray from home or want to drive along your street because it’s a long one (we didn’t have an easy way to segment longer streets), feel free to do so. The most important thing is that we saturate our city in prayer.
Who is leading the Prayer Walk?
The Prayer Walk has emerged rather organically. It is church-based, interdenominational and pastor-led; open to all Jesus-believing churches, organizations and individuals. Each city has a team of leaders from different churches of different denominations with a common desire to see God bless and break through in our cities. This is how it started and how we see the Holy Spirit continue to work among us. See the promo video (on the media tab) to see a list of some of the participating churches.
Is there some kind of grand finale on the last day?
It would be so good if we could all come together physically as one church in our city. Tentatively, we have a celebration event scheduled for Saturday October 2, 7pm at Westside Church in Vancouver. Covid-19 restrictions may change things, but regardless, we are planning to livestream this event so that we can all connect.
Further questions? Email us at [email protected].
My wife Margaret and I have been walking every street in the City of Vancouver for the past several years (maybe we’ll finally finish this fall). We have prayed from time to time, but that hasn’t been our main purpose. So we’re very pleased to see this initiative and have taken on East 19th Avenue.
Here are the links for the four Prayer Walks:
Hello! I am a former member of St. John’s Vancouver Anglican church and recently moved to Cambridge, England and my new church, St. Barnabas Anglican Church has the small community groups do prayer walks once a month on Sunday mornings.
We go out and pray for several streets surrounding our church and frequently chat with others who might be out and about and pray for them. It is fascinating to take our worship out into the streets literally. I was so pleased to learn that Vancouver Christians are also doing prayer walks! Hallelujah!
Good to hear from you Colleen, and it’s encouraging to hear about what’s happening in Cambridge. Just saw an interesting report about UK young people being more interested in church and prayer than their elders – and the development of an ‘Eternal Wall of Answered Prayer’ on the outskirts of Birmingham:
https://religionunplugged.com/news/2021/9/23/uk-prayer-monument-to-break-ground-in-2022-hopeful-about-brits-interest-in-spirituality
Blessings,
Flyn