I prayed in every empty room in church.

I began in the Sunday school classrooms, where I prayed for the children and youth I haven’t seen in months. I prayed for the teachers and youth leaders. Because of the virus, those groups haven’t gathered in person in nine months.

I didn’t want to leave the prayer, so I prayed in the rooms where adult Sunday school classes and Bible studies meet.

I prayed in the music room, the sanctuary, the office, the dining room, the kitchen, the great basement space, the children’s loft … I prayed for the people who fill those rooms.

I pray for church family every day, but praying on location brought new thoughts and feelings to the surface. It brought a few new faces to the surface.

The prayer began in melancholy, as I was in the church alone, preparing for a holiday service project.  This is something we would have done together on a Sunday morning, youth and adults, a few children, between or after worship services.

I ached in the absence of fellowship, and when I ache, I pray.

And when I pray, I see more clearly. I felt less distanced, more hopeful, more aware of God’s love and the blessings of church family.

Years ago, at another church, our children’s ministry coordinator asked me to join her on a prayer walk through empty class rooms. We prayed names of children and teachers aloud, mentioning a few specifics concerns and hopes, but mostly just lifting people to God. We tried to do it every month. The pastor joined us once and never returned. Not everyone sees hope in an empty room.

I liked our prayer walks, and have continued them almost every Sunday morning before we gather. I’ve missed them since we paused for the virus in March.

The pandemic has kept us distanced from each other, but is doesn’t have to distance us from places.  Take a prayer walk, physically or in your imagination, through or around the places that shape your life. Walk around the school your children attend, your workplace, a ball field or pitch, the YMCA, the library, the church, your neighborhood, one of your old neighborhoods, your alma mater … you don’t need to be inside.

I pray that God blesses you again in those places, that distance seems less imposing, and hope surfaces in new ways. Prayer walks, both real and imagined, always seem to lead me closer to God.  

(Photo by Bill Utterback)