How I Responded When She Said, “I Feel Lost”
Several years ago I found myself frustrated. Despite my best efforts to engage my neighbors in spiritual conversations, I did not see God working in the lives of the people around me.
I’m in awe of our God. His thoughts and ways are higher than my own, yet He is a God who invites me to come close, approach his holy throne, and lay my feelings and frustrations before Him. It was in one of those times with Him that He adjusted my vision. With a gentle whisper, He spoke to my heart, “I’m always at work. Why don’t you stop trying, start praying, and simply join me where you see me working.”
The idea of prayer walking was familiar to me, but I’d never felt compelled to make it a practice in my life before that encounter with God. As quickly as I could, I obeyed the call to stop doing and simply pray. So I began to walk the streets of my neighborhood and around my kids’ schools. I would pray for the people inside the homes, the students and the staff in the schools. I’d pray that God would be calling people to Himself, strengthening believers, and meeting those who were suffering and hurting. There was something powerful about seeing with my eyes the places and people I was petitioning God for.
On a very personal level, something beautiful happened on those walks. The pressure to make things happen disappeared. I began to trust that God had plans for those around me. That He was working behind the scenes. As I regularly came to God in prayer for those right around my family and me, I naturally began to watch and wait for Him to move. After several months of prayer walking, something began to shift.
A mom I barely knew stood beside me at a school event, and through tears, shared that she felt lost and untethered from the world. I leaned in and said, “That’s interesting that you chose to confide in me; I once felt lost and purposeless too. I would love to share more about how God found me there.” The next day I shared the Good News with this new friend over coffee. Two years later she put her faith in Christ at a Bible study in my home. Another mom I invited said, “I was wondering when this would happen. I know you love God and that something is different about you; I wondered when you’d talk to me about it.”
Watching God work that year made it exciting to continue the practice. I began to pray that God would create a real community in my neighborhood, where people open their homes and want to know neighbors. I still can’t believe it, but God raised up a group of women (some believers and some not) committed to planning events throughout the year to know neighbors and build relationships! I began to ask God for a like-minded friend who would want to prayer walk with me. I prayed for a long time. Then Emilie moved in last Spring and has been my prayer-walking buddy for almost a year.
As I type this, I’m in awe of God’s work. Just this week Emilie and I launched a new neighborhood study together. I believe our God delights in us coming to him and then watching to see how He will work in the lives of those around us! Click here to see our resources for prayer walking.
