A Prayer Walk In Distant Lands

Inviting kids to club with my cousin Debora

Last week, I was in Costa Rica for meetings with about 36 staff from all over Latin America. On Wednesday, we split into five groups and spent the day hanging out with local leaders in different neighborhoods where clubs have started up/will start recently. I didn't know where I was going, but I ended up having the incredible blessing of going to the neighborhood of San Rafael, where my cousin is currently doing ministry.

After spending some time hearing the story of the community, and how a particular club started there, we were invited to be part of a Prayer Walk with the local leaders. A Prayer Walk is pretty much that - you walk throughout a neighborhood with a couple friends, inviting the Holy Spirit to reveal to you what work is being done in that neighborhood, and how the Lord may be asking you to be part of it. It's very simple and conversational. You don't stop and 'pray over' a place. You walk, pray as you walk with your eyes open, talking with your friends and asking what is being observed in general. Prayer Walks are one of the main practices we have been using in our ministry as we have been learning different ways of cooperating with the Holy Spirit with our friends from Presbyterian-Reformed Ministries International (PRMI).

So, our group divided into smaller groups of three and we set off to walk. I was with Sharon, who is an Area Director in Costa Rica, and Aaron, a volunteer leader. We started off, and prayed as we walked for the different things we felt led to pray in the moment. We prayed that if God had someone for us to meet or talk to, that we would know. After about 15 minutes of walking, we found ourselves at the entrance of a community that was in the middle of two adjacent neighborhoods where there is Young Life, but neither Sharon nor Aaron had ever walked through it. So, we went in, and as we walked I started feeling a need to pray for moms who were praying for their own children. I prayed for moms whose children were struggling with addictions and felt alone. We prayed they would find other moms or people to pray with. We continued walking, and found ourselves at the end of the neighborhood where there was a basketball court. We had a clear view of Granadilla, the other community where there is a club. A place full of violence and various needs. We spent a good time praying there.

After we were done, we turned around, and started walking back. At the same time, from the other side of the street, out of some bushes, came an elderly woman, with an armful of logs over her shoulder. A machete was tied to her skirt. Aaron offered to carry the logs for her. She said they weren't too heavy, but if he insisted, sure he could help her. Aaron had to steady himself, as the logs were indeed heavy. She asked if we were from La Muni, the mayor's office. Aaron replied that were were from an organization that worked with teenagers and we were just praying for the community. She nodded.

We reached her house, and said goodbye. As we walked away, she sort of yelled, "let's see if you guys can remember to pray for me and my family." So, we turned around, and asked how we could pray for her. She said we could pray for her son. He was addicted to drugs, at the moment was inside the house. She said she had lost him to drugs, and sometimes she felt so hopeless she thought about running away. So right there, outside her gate, we prayed for her; we prayed for her son; then we took turns giving her hugs. And we walked away just marveled at the whole encounter.

That evening, I was sharing the story with my aunt, and she said, "I love it when God works that way... Actually, He ALWAYS works that way. It's us who miss out on it."

May we not want to miss any of it.