Prayer without Walls

By Dr. Jamie Morgan

When I was a new believer I attended a prayer leader conference that marked the course of my life. One of the speakers stood out among the rest. She talked about taking prayer outside the four walls of the church.

Her prayer assignment, she explained, was to pray for the nations of the world by prayerwalking the embassy of each nation represented in Washington, D.C. As she prayerwalked each foreign embassy, she stood on Joshua 1:3, “Wherever you set foot, you will be on land I have given you” (nlt). My heart leapt! The prayer possibilities excited me beyond words.

That conference was 30 years ago, but God planted a seed that grew into a ministry. Calling the church to the place of prayer, with an emphasis on praying beyond the church walls, is now one of my life’s missions.

Prayer journeys for me and my church are normal Christianity.

Unique Prayer Journeys

The opportunities to pray beyond the borders of your church are limitless. To help you mobilize your people to pray outside the sanctuary walls, consider these five types of unique prayer journeys:

• Former revival sites. Known as “thin places,” these locations are where revival has transpired in the past and where heaven has previously touched earth. Conduct research into where revival has transpired in your area and lead prayer journeys crying out to God to “do it again!” My church has conducted prayer journeys to several First Great Awakening sites at the exact spot where George Whitefield preached. We’ve also prayed in front of 214 Bonnie Brae Street, Los Angeles, where the Azusa Street revival was birthed. We asked God to send worldwide revival once again.

• Locations marked by war, bloodshed, or injustice. Are there places in your city where blood has been shed due to violence? Stand on that site and ask God for peace. Are there abortion clinics in your area? Prayerwalk the city block around the clinic. Have military battles been fought in your region? Through prayer, take back the land for the Lord Jesus Christ. Our church sojourned to the Mason-Dixon line and asked God to end racial division and injustice. I have also prayed at the United States-Mexican border.

• Places of government or historic significance. Conduct prayer gatherings in front of your town hall, county courthouse, and state capitol. Are there monuments or statues in your region commemorating moments in history? Hold a themed prayer meeting there. In addition, you could intercede in places where historical documents were drawn, or covenants were made or broken. We have prayed on the steps of our state capitol in Trenton, NJ, right before an election cycle, asking God to place righteous men and women in positions of power. We also traveled to Washington, D.C., to the Museum of the Bible, and prayed that the Word of God would once again take preeminence in our nation.
• Your city. We have prayerwalked almost every street in our city, asking God for the souls of the people in each house, business, and school we encounter. We anoint driveways, development signs, and street signs, asking God to awaken people to their need for Jesus. A by-product of this type of prayer journey is the powerful witnessing encounters you will have with people who are mowing their lawns, walking their dogs, and holding yard sales.
• Spontaneous prayer everywhere you place your feet. Take your prayer closet wherever your feet trod. Our church went to the movie Unplanned. At the end of the movie, as the credits were rolling, I stood to my feet and loudly proclaimed, “Prayer meeting in the parking lot!” There on the sidewalk in front of the theater, our church gathered, joined by others who had just watched the movie. Together, we cried out to God to end the atrocity of abortion and heal those who have had abortions. 

Remedy, Reverse, Repeat

So how do you motivate prayer warriors to accompany you on prayer journeys? Describe in detail what took place on that site and how God wants to use them to intercede. Through their prayers, He will heal, remedy, reverse, or repeat what occurred. This will create great excitement regarding their prayer assignments.

There are no greater spiritual adventures than taking prayer journeys. As one young lady in my church puts it,“It’s like living on the spiritual wild side!” 

JAMIE MORGAN is lead pastor of Life Church in Williamstown, NJ. She is a member of America’s National Prayer Committee and the Assemblies of God Prayer Committee. Jamie is also the author of a newly released book: Thirsty: A 31-Day Journey to Personal Revival.