Walking twenty minutes in prayer: the body as a temple
Our body spends a lot of time sitting, and our mind a lot of time agitated. Walking brings the two together: it calms the body, it frees the mind. This quest invites you to turn it into prayer: twenty minutes of walking, without earbuds, talking to God.
What it looks like in your day
Choose a route. A simple course, preferably quiet: a park, a path, a peaceful street. No obstacles, no heavy traffic.
Put the earbuds away. That is the condition of the exercise: let the sounds of the environment come to you, and let God put his voice in them.
Begin with a rhythm. For the first five minutes, concentrate on your breathing and your steps. Let the body relax.
Speak to God in a low voice or in your head. A few ways to pray while walking:
- Tell about your day as to a friend walking beside you.
- Give thanks for what you see: the sky, the trees, the faces.
- Present people: with each step, a first name.
- Say a verse to the rhythm of your steps.
- Be silent and listen to the sounds: birds, wind, footsteps.
Come back to the present. If your thoughts fly off, bring them back to your steps, to what you see, to what you are saying to God.
Finish with a thank-you. On arrival, a word of gratitude.
This practice is very old: many believers have prayed while walking. Movement helps the mind settle, and nature opens the heart.
If you are in a hurry, twenty minutes can be taken from the lunch break or the commute. If you are shy, nobody knows you are praying. If you have difficulty walking, sit outside for twenty minutes.
What the Bible says
Paul recalls the dignity of the body:
“What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
"Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost": the body is not an obstacle to spiritual life, it is its place. Praying while walking involves the body in the prayer. From the first pages of the Bible, God himself is presented as one who walks:
“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.”
The Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: a God who strolls with his creatures. Jesus walked during his ministry, speaking on the way with his disciples (Luke 24:15), and Scripture presents the life of faith as a walk: Enoch "walked with God" (Genesis 5:24).
Pitfalls to avoid
Walking while thinking of everything but God. If your mind flies off, gently come back. It is not a failure.
Turning the walk into a sports performance. Twenty minutes of prayer while walking is not a workout. Aim for calm.
Neglecting safety. Stay alert to traffic and your surroundings. Praying doesn't excuse you from watching where you are going.
Limiting yourself to asking. Alternate thanks, praise, silence, intercession.
Giving up in gloomy weather. A walk in the rain can be very beautiful in prayer. Dress accordingly.
Today, walk twenty minutes without earbuds. Talk to God on the way.