Saturday, September 4, 2010

Prayer-walking; Plain and Simple


Today was game day in Happy Valley.  The match-up; Penn State and Youngstown State. A few of us met five hours before kick off in the parking lot of our church building ... about a mile from Beaver Stadium ... the House that Joe Built.  Smile.  We had one thing on our mind, not tail-gating but prayer-walking.  I was stoked; I’ve become comfortable with praying and walking. At the same time.  My friend agreed to go even though prayer-walking is new to her as is praying out loud.  She was not stoked. A little uncomfortable with this prayer-walking activity, in fact ... it was foreign to her. I get that. Praying with your eyes open instead of shut feels weird.  At first anyway. Praying “as God leads” instead of listening while someone else prays out loud, intimidating.  Walking and praying instead of walking and talking seems a little too out-of-the-ordinary, even with friends.  The whole praying out loud thing can be a stretch.  This 2 hour prayer-walk was really pushing the limit for my friend but she took the risk and gave prayer-walking a try ...

We set out on foot after a brief definition, according to Sherilyn. There’s little to explain.  Walk and don’t carry on a conversation with each other.  Walk and listen, meaning when you have a sense of something to pray about, do it. Walk and talk out loud.  To God. Walk and pay attention to who and what’s around you.  Then pray about it.  It’s that simple.  We make it hard.  We turn it into something it was never meant to be – effort and religious ....
  • We think we have to say the right words ... we prayed today for young men to rise up with as much passion for Jesus as they do for football.  We said it just like that, as it came tumbling off our lips.  
  • Beyond the right words, we think we have to use words ... my friend prayed today for the freshman on campus and she began to cry.  Tears are better than words sometimes.  Somehow I think Jesus cries over hurting freshmen too. And sophomores ... and juniors ... and seniors ... and ...
  • We think we have to pray loud and long ... we spoke the names of students and faculty we are connected to as we talked with God today, asking Him to draw them to the truth about Jesus.  Less can be more.  Even in prayer. 
  • We think we have to understand what we say before we mention it in prayer... we prayed today that the Holy Spirit would saturate each dorm room and make a difference there.  We don’t know how that will look nor how it can happen but we want it to. I believe God does too.

We prayed for lonely students who wake up on game day and have no one to hang with, at the game or otherwise.  We prayed that God would awaken the passion He created within the hearts of students. Passion for His glory.  We prayed that students would be passionate for more than an athletic victory or a good party with alcohol and hooking up.  We prayed for the faculty and support staff, for their marriages and where/how they get their significance and more.  We prayed for the Christ following students, faculty and campus ministry leaders at Penn State, that they would have wisdom, compassion and a servant heart toward others. We asked the Lord to give hope to all who are connected to Penn State.  The hope that Jesus offers.

That's prayer-walking ... plain and simple. 

E.M. Bounds, the eighteenth century Methodist preacher, author of nine books on prayer and faithful pray-er once said, “God shapes the world by prayer. The more prayer there is in the world, the better the world will be and the mightier the forces against evil …” 

Could it be that God is shaping the Penn State "world" as we walk and pray during these 21 days? 

2 comments:

  1. I am so so proud of that friend! It took courage. Sometimes tears mean more than words......... Love to you both......

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome post, Sherilyn. You teach and share with such ease. It's very smooth to read. Powerful words.

    ReplyDelete