When I taught a prayer seminar in small community in Wisconsin, I enlisted help from a resident to do research about the community ahead of time. We noted that early in its history the town was overrun by saloons—51 scattered throughout a population of only 10,000 people. When I shared this information with the group, they identified a similar spiritual reality in their community today. The town’s alcoholism rate currently runs above the average state and national levels.

This simple piece of information helped the group begin thinking more strategically about how to pray for their community. They started pooling their knowledge about the history and various key areas in the city, especially places that represented spiritual darkness. As they talked with each other, they realized that many of them had discerned similar things.

Dividing them into small groups of three or four—or just enough to fit into one car—I sent them on prayer-walking (or prayer-driving) assignments. I instructed each carload to spend about ten minutes praying together as a group, asking the Lord where they should go. Then I gave them an hour to drive to that one spot, get out of the car, and pray together. If they had time left, they could ask the Lord about another site to prayer walk.

When they returned to the church, I invited the groups to tell about their experiences. Because they all lived in the community, they were very enthused to hear from each other. As they described what God had shown them and how they prayed, God began planting in their hearts a broader vision and love for their community. Many committed to continue prayer walking with a new strategic mindset.

This simple strategy can be used in any size community. As people live in an area or neighborhood, they begin to observe the spiritual dynamics of their surroundings. Bringing them together to talk and pray about it helps enlarge their hearts for their “territory.”

This can be a simple exercise for an adult class, a youth gathering, or a mid-week prayer time. Offering this experience on a regular basis will help people more readily observe the spiritual dynamics around them—and then want to join with others to pray.

CAROL MADISON is editor of Prayer Connect.