Episode #69
Uniting A City Through Prayerwalking with Kurt Wilson (Episode 69)
In this episode, Matthew chats with Kurt Wilson, founder of Pray for the Lou. They discuss what prayerwalking really is and how it can change a city. LINKS FROM THIS EPISODE Pray for the Lou • https://www.prayforthelou.org/ The Presence Pioneers podcast exists to help YOU and your community experience and host the presence of God through day & night worship & prayer – because we believe God’s presence changes everything. Hosted by Matthew Lilley, episodes feature short Bible teachings and interviews with key leaders in the prayer & worship movement. SUBSCRIBE • http://eepurl.com/gfw9vH MORE RESOURCES FROM MATTHEW • http://presencepioneer.com INSTAGRAM • http://instagram.com/presencepioneers/ FACEBOOK • http://facebook.com/presencepioneers/ Kurt is St. Louis born and raised, and has always had a heart for his city. He tried for a long time to get prayer meetings going, and jokes that he learned a lot more about what wouldn't work than what would work. After a solid year of trying with no success, God reminded him of Joshua and Caleb "walking the land", and he remembered praying walking on mission trips years before. He and two friends broke the city up into 79 neighborhoods and started prayerwalking in 5 a week. But what really is prayerwalking? Kurt defines it simply as praying "on site, in sight". He says you pray differently when you're seeing the need with your own eyes. It's also made outreach more effective, because there is often a breakdown in communication between churches and local ministries with who's helping where, with what. Being on the ground in the neighborhoods means that they can actually see what's needed and address it, instead of guessing from inside their four walls. Going back to that year of what seemed like failure after failure, Matthew asks Kurt what he thinks God was doing in his heart. Kurt believes God was stretching and testing his perseverance. He had to look at whether he felt the same passion to show up and pray on week 52 that he felt in week 1. And he's now hearing testimonies from those "awkward" Facebook live prayer meetings of people who have been impacted that he had no idea were watching! It's also built trust with local pastors. They can look at Kurt and see that he's as invested in the city as they are. Pastors are always inundated with people wanting to start things or asking for money or volunteers for their own thing, and Kurt went in to serve instead. He saw this during his time in Mozambique, where they would go into a village and honor the chief, and it would open doors to share the gospel where it had been slammed shut before. So he joined in with what other churches and ministries were doing, honoring their vision, and it opened doors for him to build relationship with these leaders. The first Pray for the Lou event was actually on March 14, 2020 - the day before their city shut down for Covid-19! They had between 700 and 800 people from many local churches out prayerwalking in all 79 neighborhoods, and then came together on a football field that lays on what used to be the racial dividing line in the city. This year, they went from 1 day to 8! They had prayer meetings every night hosted by different churches, and Kurt was blown away by the engagement of the pastors. He didn't have to facilitate much, because they have the vision and have relationship with each other and can come together. They went out every day together to put feet on the ground in these neighborhoods and pray for their city. Next, Matthew asks Kurt what the struggles have been during this process - and Kurt jokes that it's all been a struggle! He initially didn't want to start a new thing because he knew how hard it would be. He often looked at what was in front of him and just wondered if it was possible and also if it even mattered. He credits his ability to hang in there to his friends - friends who were willing to tell him to hang in there, and point out to him that the "win" isn't succeeding, it's his obedience. Kurt's encouraged by the Pray for the Lou event this year, and is looking forward to what God will do over the next year. If you want to keep up with what they're doing there or get inspired for your city, you can go to the Pray for the Lou link above. And if God's stirring your heart for your city, Kurt says don't overthink it - just go where He says to and pray what He says to.
