I am a streetwalker! (Obviously, this is a play on words)
In 1986, I was 16 years old, and I came across some bible verses that spoke to me about how I should pray for the town I lived in. Deuteronomy 11:24, “Every place where you set your foot will be yours…” and Joshua 1:3, “Every place where you set your foot will be yours…”
I was in grade ten when I came across these verses, and they went around and around in my heart and my thinking for some time. I knew the verses were speaking about territory. I knew God wanted to expand His territory into the hearts of all people around me. And I knew He had given me that job. So my town became the territory I would be responsible for.
Around the same time, Trevor Moore, one of my pastors, who I am eternally grateful for, preached a message about prayer and fasting. I will never forget it. The message he preached and the verse God had shown me gave me great faith in the possibility of reaching people in no small way for Jesus.
I started what has now become a life-long habit of fasting one day a week, every week, and walking around my town praying for everyone in it. As I walked house to house, I prayed for the families, that they would come to know Jesus, every man, woman, and child, grandparents and extended families included. My own family thought I was a nut but I knew God wanted me to do it.
It is now 2011. I have moved a few times but have always continued this habit of praying, weekly fasting, and walking around my neighborhood. I still believe, absolutely, that God will reach every one of these people.
I have lived in my current neighborhood for over eight years. In the first seven years, I saw only six families come to church. Over a year ago, I started to get quite upset by that, knowing there are so many people yet to know Jesus. So my husband and I, we stepped it up a little.
In the past year and a half, there have been over 200 people come to church from our immediate neighborhood, and many are now planted in our church. Many are themselves working to bring others to church. While this is a good reason to celebrate, I am well aware there is a heck of a lot more people and still a lot of work to be done in reaching my neighborhood and, similarly, in yours…
So become a streetwalker and pray for your neighbors. Consider fasting occasionally and start to believe to have an impact in your neighborhood through prayer, and let’s see what God will do in our Nation.
Every place where you set your foot will be given to you so you can in turn give it to Jesus!
