Benefits of a Prayer Walk
Author: Steve Canon
The journey of a hundred miles begins with the first step. While the pandemic has changed so many things, a morning prayer walk is still in order. I have enjoyed a morning walk for a number of years, and it’s been a source of strength, prayer, and direction for my life. The words walk, walked, and walking appears in the Bible 364 times. So if I can add my walk, it turns into 365. God has a plan for our spiritual life, along with our mental and physical life. My morning prayer walk has strengthened me in all three areas: physical, mental, and spiritual.
How My Morning Prayer Walks Benefit Me
Most doctors agree that walking is one of the healthiest activities to engage in. During the pandemic, I have ramped up my morning walk to seven miles. I am on my way to a six-million-step year. Take that, devil! To reach a six-million-mile goal, I have to walk an average of 16,439 steps a day. It takes dedication and commitment to reach these kinds of goals. Physically, I feel incredible and have lost weight. Mentally, I arise early and can think clearly and make plans for the day. Spiritually, it gives me a chance to pray for others and for the many thousands involved in leadership and in Children’s Ministries.
How My Morning Walks Benefit Others
The older an individual gets, the harder it seems to remember names. Since coming to St. Louis, I purposed that I would focus on every place that I have traveled during the last nine years. I added those names to my previous prayer list. My prayer list starts with two sons who are not in the church,
With each step, I get a chance for God to direct lives and futures. And while they sleep, I believe.
but I have prayed for them daily for years. Their mom, Annie, was a faithful member of my church and died the day I resigned as pastor to come to World Headquarters to serve as general director of Children’s Ministries. Annie requested on her death bed that I pray daily for her two sons, and to date, I have not failed to call their names out in prayer daily.
Prayer Helps Us to Pause and Remember
The Children’s Ministries team has always asked me how I retain so many people’s names. It’s much easier to remember people if you call their names out daily in prayer. My prayer walk begins with praise and then I call out every name on my prayer list. They include pastors I have ministered to, friends, family, Holy Ghost rallies around North America and globally, and the members of the National Children’s Ministries team. I also include every district superintendent in North America and the executive leaders of the UPCI. Some may have forgotten who I am, but I have never forgotten to pray daily for them. Some of those have passed from this life, but I still pray for their family. My prayer list includes over 750 names, and it continues to grow. My greatest accomplishment is that I get to call out all my children and grandchildren daily. With each step, I get a chance for God to direct lives and futures. And while they sleep, I believe.
God has a plan for our spiritual life, along with our mental and physical life. CLICK TO TWEET
My morning prayer walks have sustained me through this pandemic, and I know that God has all things in His hands. I want my staff, my team, and the leaders of the UPCI to know that daily I am in prayer for them. Committing to that level of prayer may not result in flowers delivered or accolades given, but I can rest with a clean conscience that with my prayers I am helping reach every child around the world.
Today would be a good day to start a prayer walk. Your prayer life will improve—and yes!—God speaks during prayer walks.
Bio: Steve L. Cannon has served as the director of Children’s Ministries for the past nine years. He has served as a pastor, evangelist, and a weekly radio speaker on The Pentecostal Hour. He and his wife, Rita, have three daughters and eight grandchildren.
