9th annual Prayer Walk Across Aurora
Randy Schoof, pastor at Warehouse Church, Aurora IL
Thursday, May 3rd 2012 was the ninth year for believers from many churches in the Aurora IL area to join together to pray for their city. Begun in 2004 by Pastor Dan Haas and myself, the prayer walk has made a positive difference in the life of our city.
The prayer walk helps bring visible unity in the body of Christ. As part of the answer to Jesus' prayer in John 17, that His followers would be one, just as Jesus and the Father are one. Every year the prayer walk draws people from a diverse cross section of the body of Christ in Aurora. At times the group is as large as fifty, usually six to ten are prayer walking the entire route.
There is denomination diversity - non-denominational evangelicals, Catholics, Presbyterians, Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, and more are represented. There is ethnic and racial diversity: African-American, Anglos, Hispanics are walking side-by-side. This is a visible unity to everyone who sees the prayer walk - those driving down the streets, business owners, neighborhood residents. They can see that believers that are different, but are together praying for their city. Prayers are offered in both English and Spanish, an audible reminders that the Church of Aurora is beautiful in its diversity.
The prayer walk helps to build friendships in the body of Christ. As you walk the prayer route, great conversations happen. This year I walked the entire ten mile route with a younger Hispanic couple, Manny and his wife Brenda. They are a part of Luz Divina, a Hispanic Pentecostal church near downtown Aurora. It was great to observe their obvious love for Jesus, and for each other - and for what God is doing in our city. I also got to know Eddie, who worships and serves at Vida Abundate, a Hispanic congregation on the northwest side of Aurora. It was very encouraging to hear Eddie's passionate prayers, in both English and Spanish. Our city has an every-increasing Spanish speaking population, so these prayers - and people like Eddie praying them - are an answer to prayer!
The prayer walk across Aurora is real prayer, for very real segments of life in our city. The prayer walk begins on the far west side of town, on Orchard Ave. There are thirteen stops along the way, where the group prays at spiritually significant or representative places. The first stop is at a nursing home, where prayers are offered regarding the elderly, heath care, doctors, hospitals in the city. The next stop is a high school, where the group prayers for all of the high schools, students, faculty, and administrators at all of the high schools in the city.
Other stops are the Pregnancy Information Center (life issues), the Paramount Arts Centre (entertainment, the arts, the artist community in our city), Fox Valley United Way (prayer for service agencies), City Hall (prayer for government at all levels - here we are joined by our mayor and his staff), lunch at a neighborhood Mexican restaurant, then at the legal center of Aurora (homelessness, poverty, repentance & blessing) the Vineyard Church ( unity in the body of Christ), Main Baptist (an African-American congregation, prayers for racial reconciliation), Beaupre Elementary School (joined by the school principal, prayers for all Aurora grade schools & students), Steck School (prayers for all middle schools in Aurora), a fire station (prayer for fire fighters, police officers, military personnel), and the last stop is at the eastern border of Aurora, at IL Rt. 59 (prayer for buisness, jobs, economic development). So at the end of the day, believers - in unity - have physically covered the width of the city, crying out together to God for His mercy and help in specific areas of life in our city.
God has answered our prayers, and He continues to do so. In the mid 1990s Aurora had between 20-26 homicides per year. As believers in Jesus began to pray together for their city, and serve the needs of their city together - the homicide rate has been reduced dramatically, to 2-3 per year in the last five years. And by the grace of God, there have been no homicides in Aurora IL so far in 2012.
This is only one statistic, but it mirrors many others that show that God is at work in Aurora. In John 10:10 Jesus says "the their comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But I have come that you may have life, and have it to the fullest." That's what we're beginning to see in Aurora IL, and the annual Prayer Walk Across Aurora is a significant part of that.
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