Sunday, April 5, 8:30 or 11 a.m.
Since we cannot be together for Palm Sunday, we are encouraging those who are able to prayer walk at the time we normally gather for worship. Walk in your neighborhood or anywhere that the Lord leads you.
Pick up your palms! If you would like to have palms as you walk, they are available in a bucket underneath the mailbox at the Perry St. entrance. One per family please.
Here are some basic thoughts about prayer walking:
You can do it alone, but just as Jesus sent his disciples out two by two, it is best to do it with a partner (or two), while still maintaining proper physical distance.
As you begin your walk, begin with a spirit of worship and praise. This is Palm Sunday when we celebrate Jesus as King. Celebrate his kingship! “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the king of Israel!” Make that your praise and your petition!
If you are comfortable, pray out loud. Not in a public way that draws attention to yourself but as you would if you were walking with a friend. Even if you are walking alone, it can help to pray out loud to help keep your mind focused. If it makes you more comfortable, hold your phone so that people walking by think you are on the phone!
Prayer is a conversation. Have a conversation with the Lord as you are walking. Pay attention to your surroundings. What do you see? How does what you see spring up praises, confessions, thanksgivings, and petitions within your heart?
Listen to the Holy Spirit. It can be helpful to have a route in your mind that you are planning to follow but allow the Spirit to direct your path. If you feel led to stop and pray longer over a particular location, do so. Notice the people around you. Pray for them, if the opportunity presents itself (while still maintaining proper physical distance), engage them in conversation and look for an opportunity to at least pray for them if not pray with them.
Pray with a “communal” spirit. As Nehemiah, Jeremiah, and the prophets identified themselves with the sins and the needs of their community, so we should pray using first person, plural pronouns—“we” and “us” and “ours.”
Do you have a story to tell? Share with one of the pastors or elders how you saw the Lord show up in this time of prayer.