For some time now, God has been speaking to me about the
importance of prayer in the spiritual receptivity of a neighborhood, city,
region and country. Most of us wouldn’t argue about the importance of prayer,
yet I find that I don’t always give the time and energy to prayer that would
demonstrate its importance.
I have started to dedicate several hours a week to the
practice of walking the streets in prayer. And, as I prayer-walk, the picture
that I keeps coming to mind is one of tilling the ground, preparing the soil
for the harvest that is to come. I am also praying for specific people of peace, who are seeking God and
are ready to receive the Gospel, and who will connect us into their sphere of
influence and relationship.
Essentially, there are four places/people groups I feel lead
to pray for at this time:
· Hamline-Midway
neighborhood – I’ve had a strong sense that I am to start right here where I
live, work and play; therefore, I am specifically praying along a one-mile
stretch of Van Buren Ave. I have also been praying at Groundswell coffee, which
is located in the center of our immediate neighborhood and serves as a hub for
this community.
· Many Somali
families work and shop at the Walmart, which is located just a half mile
from our house. In 2009, there were 103,000 Somali in the U.S. with more than ¼
(28,000) living in the Twin Cities. As I prayer-walk the aisles of Walmart and
engage people in conversation, I am praying/looking for people of peace in the expanding
Somali community.
Dayton’s
Bluff is the area just outside of downtown St. Paul where our teammate,
Tony, will be planting a church later this year. The area has a reputation for
being low-income and rough, but God has been/and is doing great things in that
neighborhood. Again, we are tilling the ground, exploring what God is already
busy doing, and considering the specific neighborhood where the church will be
located.
· There is a substantial American Indian population in Minnesota. My interest in Native Americans began when I
was young, and has resurfaced since moving to the Twin Cities. The two major
tribes in Minnesota are the Ojibwe (Chippewa) and Dakota (Sioux). I know there are
strong Christians within the American Indian population, but I am praying for
fresh expressions of church that will capture the hearts and imaginations of the
younger generations.
As I learn and move forward with prayer-walking, I am inviting
others to join me. I would also like to invite you to join me as well in
praying for fertile soil in the Twin Cities. From a vibrant Arts community to a
large immigrant and refugee population, and from dying neighborhoods to young,
urban hipsters, the untapped opportunities abound. Our call is to identify and
walk alongside leaders and churches as they move into these neighborhoods and
networks of people with fresh expressions of God’s timeless Church.
