The fleur-de-lis — a lily long associated with the city of New Orleans and French royalty — appropriately adorned the shirts of approximately 200 people who came to New Orleans from various parts of Louisiana and a few other states to pray for spiritual strength and renewal in the ailing city.
Wayne Jenkins, director of evangelism and church growth for the Louisiana Baptist Convention (LBC), and Dick DeBusk, LBC prayer strategist, organized the prayer walk in conjunction with the Baptist Association of Greater New Orleans, where
Alabama-native Joe McKeever is director of missions.
Jenkins designed the participants’ shirts after a shirt used in New York City following the 9/11 disaster. “People would come up to us when they would see the T-shirt and say pray for us. So we would have a great opportunity to pray for them and give them a gospel tract,” he said.
Jenkins described prayer walking as “praying onsite with insight.” He encouraged participants to look for opportunities to provide spiritual or physical help to residents they encountered while prayer walking through neighborhoods.
One group, made up of members of First Baptist Church, Kenner, La., in the course of a conversation with an elderly woman, learned of her need for a new cane.
The team members prayed for the woman and went back to their church to share the need with a minister. The next day, they returned to provide the woman with the cane she needed.
Another group, led by Sherri Ingram, prayer coordinator for the Greater Baton Rouge Baptist Association, encountered Matthew who considered himself “pretty blessed” yet said he was certain he would not go to heaven. When asked why, he said, “Because I’m mean.”
The man did not begin a relationship with the Lord; he was, however, willing to receive a gospel tract and committed to attend a block party held at Calvary Baptist Church.
Tony Merida prayed for Stacey, who recognized him as the pastor of First, Kenner.
She told Merida that she came to church the previous Sunday because a chain saw team, sent from his church, removed a tree from her home. She asked for prayer for her brother, whose home was severely damaged, to be able to return home for the Thanksgiving holidays.
Jennifer and Caleb Smith, the wife and son of Pastor Scott Smith of Highland Baptist Church, Metairie, La., met a young man who lost his home in Waveland, Miss.
While evacuated to Virginia, the man went into the woods to pray and felt a presence, like someone watching him.
When he looked up, he noticed a section of a tree that looked like two eyes watching him.
He cut down the section of tree and made a walking stick. He said it served as a reminder that God was watching over him.
Scott Smith, during his prayer walk, saw the magnitude of personal tragedy that families are facing when he walked by a funeral home, which had three refrigerated trucks to house the bodies of the dead until families could make arrangements.
“There is such a backup of people waiting to be buried because a lot of the funeral homes are not up and running yet,” Smith recounted.
He stopped to pray for those families that are trying to finalize the arrangements to bury their loved ones in the days to come.
David Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana convention, made a special trip with Merida to pray for New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, Edgewater Baptist Church and other churches in the hard-hit areas of east New Orleans.
A team led by Jenkins met Jason, who was sitting on the sidewalk eating a free lunch. Two members of the team shared with Jason that they were praying over the city and wondered if he had any needs for which they could pray. He began to weep as he poured out his heart.
After the team prayed for him, he said, “It is no accident that you are here praying for me.” He inquired about where he could attend church in New Orleans, and the team gave his name to a local pastor for follow-up.
Before the teams began the prayer walk, McKeever led them in prayer, asking, “May we be an answer for this city and not another one of her problems.”
Those who were touched during the prayer walk would say his prayer was answered. (BP)
Share with others: