Lessons From A Prayer Walk:

On Monday, some of the Navs met to prayer walk the campus. Jeremy and the rest of the group read and prayed together for a while in the lobby of the Blum, and, afterwards, we split into pairs. I went with Margaret.
Margaret and I walked to several places. In each spot, we paused to examine a passage of Scripture, and then to pray it, applying it to whoever/whatever we were focusing on- students, faculty, Christian groups.
At the first stop: Psalm 68:18-20
'When you ascended on high, you led captives in your train; you received gifts from men, even from the rebellious- that you, O Lord God, might dwell there. Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens. Our God is a God who saves; from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death."
Lord, we stood outside of the dormitories, then. Christ, You have ascended on high- You have conquered all that stood between us and You, now break down everything that is a barrier between these students and an understanding of You. Lord, I know that I am a captive in Your train. Thank You for Your love in claiming me, for Your grace that means that I am, as Chambers exulted: "...in the procession of a conqueror, and always led in triumph." God, You are worthy of all gifts and all glory- and You have received gifts, even from the rebellious. These buildings are full of the rebellious, Lord- and all too often I am one of them. Work in each of our hearts. Bring wisdom, bring understanding, bring the utter brokenness of repentance. Bring Your Spirit, Lord, down upon Missouri Western's residents. Thank You, Lord, for being our Savior, and a God who daily bears our burdens. Free us from the crippling pride that tempts us to insist upon carrying all burdens ourselves. When faced with heartache, God, let us seek refuge not in independence, but DEPENDENCE on You- not in self-sufficiency, but in the faith and humility that is willing to throw itself entirely upon Your sufficiency. Through You we have escaped from death, for You are the way of escape. So many of these before us, and all around us daily are trapped, condemned, still under a sentence of death. Father, be their escape- overwhelm their rebellion, their objections, their self-will, and ennable them to freely give to You the gifts of surrender, and worship. Amen.
At the second stop: Isaiah 54:2-5
"Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes. For you will spread out to the right and to the left... Do not be afraid; you will not suffer shame. Do not fear disgrace; you will not be humiliated...For your Maker is your husband- the Lord Almighty is his name- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; HE IS CALLED THE GOD OF ALL THE EARTH..."
Lord, we prayed this last while standing in the Blum, preparing for the outreach of today and tomorrow. You have been so faithful today- so many people filled out the Spiritual Interest surveys- so many contacts were built- so many good discussions were had. Thank You so much for sending the group from Northwest to help us get our new semester 'off the ground'. You know, Father, how nervous we were- it was completely new to some of us- and, even for me- well, let's just say it's nothing like children's ministry! :-) But You carried us through! Please don't let us be concerned about the good opinion of others- if we look like absolute fools patrolling the Student Union with the Gospel, then, oh, let me be a fool, Lord! Thank You for Your promise that we will NOT be humiliated! But let us say, as Much-Afraid did, when the Shepherd asked her "Do you believe that I will let you be put to shame?"
"I don't think that I mind so very much if You do; only have Your will and way in me, Shepherd. Nothing else matters."
No, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS. This promise will be fulfilled in Your time- but let us also remember that You Yourself were willing to be stripped naked before a jeering crowd, flogged beyond recognition, nailed to the very symbol of wrongdoing, and judged for all of the sin of mankind. Humiliation is not the issue. Saving face is irrelevant. Saving souls is vital. We will be justified one day. Until then, Lord, we are willing to bear the same scorn which You aroused in the hearts of Your enemies. Embolden us to enlarge the place of our tents this semester. Do not let us be satisfied, God, with a 'comfortable' ministry. Lord- send revival! Send growth! We trust that You will swell our ranks, ennable us to spread out to the right and to the left. Send us out, O God of all the earth, INTO all the earth with the good news of Your salvation! Amen.
The third stop: Ephesians 3:16-20
"I pray that out of His glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fulness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to hm be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!"
Lord, this is the prayer of the Navigators, for ourselves, and for our group, and for the entire body of Christ here at Missouri Western.Amen.
The fourth stop: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
"For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
Lord, thank You for arming us with spiritual weapons. Encourage us in faithfulness to train ourselves in their use. Lord, we lift up to You the strongholds of Your enemy on this campus. Demolish them, Lord- equip us to battle in Your cause. Remind us that the victory is already Yours, and ours, through Jesus Christ. Let us be gentle and loving with those we contact- but for those pretensions which set themselves up against the knowledge of God, may we have no mercy. Let us recognise them in professors and fellow students, and battle against them there. Let us give them no foothold in our own hearts and minds. Teach us, Lord, to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. Equip us with discipline, and perseverance in Your Word, that every element in our lives and thoughts might be pleasing to You. Amen.
After the walking teams all arrived back in the Blum, Jeremy finished up with some discussion and prayer. He closed his prayer with this, and as he talked, I felt the tears stinging at my eyes:
"There are so many days, and weeks when it seems that all of our words and actions are falling upon dry, and rocky ground. Lord, we know that it is only through Your Spirit that this hard soil will be broken, and made soft- God, grant us faithfulness in scattering the seed of Your Word."
I would so like to say of myself that, although I had very minimal spiritual impact last semester, I was still faithful in scattering seed- that I was faithful in prayer, faithful in fasting, and even faithful in my own friendship with Christ. But I can't. So much time was wasted, so many opportunities ignored, so much pride, and sin, and self-love allowed to intrude into our fellowship. Maybe this semester won't be any different, and maybe it will. But, either way, may I remember that it isn't about me- not even about my own sin and awfulness- but about Him. His work, His glory. And my pride must have so little place in that, that even the consciousness of desperate unworthiness is insufficient to separate me from my Love and His plans for my life.