Pray the Streets

Of all the weapons in the Christian arsenal, Prayer, in my experience, is one of the most effective and powerful. Too often we forget to use it to its full potential. Churches are great at organising big events and lots reach out into their community through everything from Mums and Tots groups to further education classes which are all amazing and valuable, but we most not be content with just impacting a few live when God has called us to so much more.

 

I was once told a story of an elderly lady who God challenged to change her community. She wasn’t anyone special and at first didn’t have a clue what to do. She lived in Peckham in South East London, on one of the most notorious estates in the area. It was a mix of high and low rise housing which had been ignored by government and local councils for so long that the issues that you find on most estates had escalated beyond what the police could cope with. Frankly it was a no-go area for many people.

This lady, along with some close friends made a decision to walk and pray around this estate each day. On these prayer walks they would sometimes meet people who were interested in what they were doing and some who would just laugh at them, but they persisted because God had called them to.

Change didn’t happen over night but it did happen. Now the estate has gone and the area is now homes for families and has a strong community spirit.

 

I believe these ladies changed their area through prayer and persistence, and that’s what we are challenging you to start this week.

 

Take a small group of friends and prayer walk the streets around you. If you fell brave enough you could even make cards to let people know someone is praying for them or even ask passers by if they would like prayer.

 

For safety’s sake do not do this on your own and always let someone know where you are going.