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- Grace Wiebe
With this feature we invite your responses/stories & examples for future
editions of the Ethnic Worship & Arts Focus newsletter.
Many of you are likely aware of the growing practice of ‘prayerwalking’
in order to prepare the way for God to work in a particular geographical
area. In this short piece we will begin to consider ways in which we
as musicians and artists can utilize this practice in reaching those
in our areas.
What is Prayerwalking?
Excerpts from: http://www.waymakers.org/pwstep.html (good resource for
you!)
“…We define prayerwalking as simply ‘praying on-site with insight’.
• Prayerwalking is on-site. We are simply praying in the very places
where we expect God to bring about answers…
• Prayerwalking is with insight. By getting near to the people of a
city, God helps us pray with laser-like precision for specific homes
and families. We see real needs and God’s great promises through the
same eyes of faith. Thus prayerwalkers find themselves praying "city-size"
requests for major advances of the gospel…
Prayerwalking is not a secret spiritual weapon God has saved for the
end times. There’s nothing magic at all in the footsteps. God’s Spirit
is simply helping weak people to cry out to God for cities in a focused,
close-up way.”
For some time I have wondered about how much prayerwalking is being
utilized around the world in music/arts ministries in order to prepare
the way for God to move in specific villages and cities, and indeed
throughout the nations, through the use of music and the arts. If this
is happening, I think that it would be encouraging to hear more about
it.
If it is not happening, is this not something that we could consider
as an important part of our preparations to help establish more effective
and lasting foundations in our music/arts ministries in order to see
the church planted and thriving and multiplying?
We’ve begun to talk briefly about ‘reclaiming music and the arts’ and
worship of the culture for the Kingdom – to bring God worship and glory
through the many varieties of musical/artistic expressions that are
redeemable for the Kingdom.
Perhaps some places to begin to reclaim the arts in your city would
be to pray on-site where local dances, festivals, theatrical, musical/arts
events take place and where musical/arts/media training is given.
Pray that God would begin to bring major changes in the spiritual atmosphere
of these places and in the lives of the people that are involved and
affected, and that He will lead you to know how/when to respond to these
situations when He opens doors for you.
Pray for His wisdom in seeing music/the arts/media reclaimed in your
area and that these people’s hearts would begin to open up with expressions
of worship to God through their music/art.
This can have a major impact on the whole of society.
We would like to hear from you stories of how God may have led you or
worked through you as a result of prayerwalking in your area regarding
music/arts focus.
Or perhaps you know of situations where this has happened? Have you
experienced God using prayerwalking in your lives to help lay the foundations
for ministries utilizing music and the arts (especially among unreached
peoples), or do you know of ways that Christian workers have seen God,
through prayerwalking, begin to destroy some of the strongholds brought
into various segments of society through ungodly music/arts/media hotspots,
etc.?
Following is a story sent to us by J.J. -
“In September of 1992, I became a teacher in China, in the city of Xi'an.
(I taught in China 2 years.) The city was the ancient capital of China,
and as such was known as a major center for the arts during the Tang
Dynasty. The modern city of Xi'an (pronounced Shee-an) is still surrounded
by the ancient city wall from that time. The wall was mostly restored
in the 1980s. Among foreign workers in that area, Xi'an has had the
reputation of being a hard city spiritually in which to live and work.
Few converts, and much spiritual warfare. I believe this is due to its
history of cruel leadership, and because it is has been a target spiritually
both by God and by the enemy…
Soon after my arrival I felt an impetus to prayer-walk around the wall,
a distance of about 7 miles. I did this alone in September, and the
following Easter, a group of about 10 of us foreign Christian workers
did it again, walking, praying, anointing the wall, and finishing with
communion on top of
the wall. Tremendous time!
Last Easter I heard from a teacher friend of mine who was with us at
that time and was again teaching in Xi'an after 3 or 4 years back in
the States. He said one of his students invited him to go have a picnic
with his family on Easter Sunday. John consented. But to his great surprise,
there was no
picnic. Instead, about 30 mostly Chinese believers boarded a chartered
bus and drove up and down the streets of Xi'an, praising, singing, praying
all day long!
John talked with another American teacher (the only other foreigner
he noticed on the bus) who told him that something had happened in Xi'an
to change the spiritual climate there. No one seemed to know what it
was, but foreign workers had narrowed the time of the change to about
the spring of 1993 (when we did our prayerwalk).
To know that we were used there at the time God chose to answer the
prayers of countless people for that city and the nation of China is
an awesome feeling. And how wonderful that the local Chinese believers
are continuing what is now the tradition of prayerwalking in Xi'an on
Easter.
From what I understand, there has not been an Easter since 1993 that
some kind of prayerwalk has not happened in that city, though to my
knowledge, there is no longer anyone in Xi'an who was part of the original
walk, and the Chinese were unaware of our previous walk.
By the way, the Chinese chose to end their tour through the streets
with communion on top of the wall.
Amazing how this whole thing has been orchestrated by God!”
From Kirk Bullington: knk5@yahoo.com
“I am the Music Evangelism Strategist at the Baptist Spanish Publishing
House in El Paso Texas. We are in production of a "give away" music
cassette that uses top 10 Latino Pop music to communicate the good news
of salvation. It is intended to be the functional equivalent of a gospel
tract to be bought by Christians/churches and given away. One of the
main ways we envision using this resource is as a part of prayer walking.
These music cassettes can be given away to people as folks walk along
and prayer walk. This is just one of many music applications in the
area of evangelism and church planting we hope to implement in the next
several years.”
More resources on Prayerwalking:
http://www.waymakers.org/resources.html
Prayer Walk Organizer’s Guide:
http://www.prayerwalk.org/excerpts.htm
Prayerwalking Information Sheet: http://www.cma-world.com/pry-walk.htm
Prayerwalking
Revisited
From Neill Foster: 74111.2555@compuserve.com
I have a published chapter on the theme of prayerwalking, “Binding and
Loosing” by K. Neill Foster, Christian Publications, Inc. 1-800-233-4443
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