This past summer, Eliza Solomons, a rising senior at Anderson University who served as a summer intern at St. Helena’s, Beaufort, invited members of their parish youth group to come together regularly for a prayer walk. She and I chatted about the experience. Come listen in. (Joy Hunter, Editor)
Who came up with the idea for a prayer walk?
I really wanted to do prayer walks with the high school girls because I thought it would be something they would enjoy. We have an awesome group of high schoolers here at St. Helena’s who are really strong in their faith and love praying for each other and for others. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity for them to pray together and remind them they can always pray for people and their community. Prayer changes things.
Wonderful! And how did you choose which neighborhood to walk in?
I loved walking the downtown Point when I was in high school, and it’s right next to where St. Helena’s is. Our kids often hang out in the Church Street parking lot before and after youth group, so I thought they could park there and then we could walk down to this neighborhood in central downtown Beaufort. It’s an easy place to walk. There are lots of tourists, so I knew we wouldn’t have to worry about cars running people over. And I thought it might spark some ideas for things they could pray about, for the community.
Did you give them any guidance on how to pray or what to pray?
Before we start, I read them a psalm. Usually there’s a theme with the psalm. It’s usually a shorter psalm. And they’re supposed to think about it as they’re walking, so it can inspire what they pray about. And then, of course, we pray a lot for the community of Beaufort, because, while it’s an awesome town, we’re by the water. We see a lot of tourists, and a lot of different crazy parts of worldly culture.
Before Water Festival, which is our biggest festival, we walked over the bridge, and they prayed for all the people who were going to be here during Water Festival. They prayed for their community. They prayed for the tourists who would be here and that, if they had a chance, they could interact with them. The next week, when they showed up, they were saying, “Oh! We prayed about meeting people, and we met people, and got to talk with them.”
It was so neat to see them pray about being a light in the community and then go out and actually be a light in the community. It was awesome.
That’s fabulous. Did they pray in small groups or was it all of you praying together?
So, it just depended on the week. The nice part about the layout of that downtown area is there are several spots good for tourist views. We’d stop about five or six times to pray. They would talk with their friends, of course. And think about what they wanted to pray about. When we’d get to a spot, we’d do some popcorn prayer. Or if somebody specifically said, “Hey, I really want to pray when we get there,” they’d pray for us as a group, and then we’d continue walking until we got to the next spot. It usually went on for about an hour.
Can you explain what a popcorn prayer is for those who might not know?
You get in a circle. Everybody holds hands, and after you’ve prayed, you squeeze hand of the person next to you, then they’ll pray.
Were all the kids comfortable praying out loud?
It depended on the person, but they do like to pray. Some prayers were shorter than others, but all prayers are powerful. It was really sweet watching as some of them, when they started, didn’t know if they wanted to pray and would definitely squeeze the hand of the person next to them. They’d be like, “You pray. I’m going to sit this one out.” But later, all the people who were showing up really consistently wanted to pray and were eager to pray for people they’d met and the week ahead. It was really special.
They’re pretty ready to pray. We have an awesome group here, and that’s because of Camden Windham, our youth minister. I’m just a summer intern. He’s done an awesome job. We have a leadership team. And a lot of those girls on the leadership team show up eager and ready to pray.
How often did you do the walk?
We met every Monday at 8:30 a.m.
They prayed for the community. Did they also pray for their own needs?
Yes. They’d pray for each other, or whatever was on their hearts. What’s really special is a lot of times at the different spots, one girl would say, “I’ll start, or I want to lead” And then ask, “Hey, what can I pray for everybody in the circle about?”
It looked different every time, and it’s been really cool to see the girls bring different ideas to it. One week, we had a girl say, “Next week, we should pray ‘ACTS’ (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving and Supplication) in all the different spots.”
If someone else wanted to do this, do you have any advice for them?
Just to do it. It’s awesome. I definitely prayed through what to bring to the girls and what scripture to use. When we started, I didn’t know if the scripture would have much of an effect on their prayers, but they really soak it in, and they usually pray something related to the psalm shared that morning. The scripture you’re feeding them makes such an impact on them and on their day.
I was nervous about giving them scripture at first, because the kids in this youth group, especially the ones that are showing up, are very biblically literate. They’re very “in” their Bibles. So I was thinking, I don’t know if they’ll want to read some random psalm. But they love it. They love hearing it, and they soak it in. It’s just so cool. I mean, they are far beyond me. They’ve made my job so easy. They show up ready to pray, and they want to ask questions. So, definitely bring scripture into it.
There are a lot of things I could say, but because I’m a person, I can get it wrong. But I know the Lord’s never going to get it wrong.
Comments from Students:
“Our prayer walks are a reminder to me that the Lord is always listening and wants us to talk to him. No matter how big or small our prayers are He is there. Allowing time to pray nudges me to remember to pray for others as well and think outside of just my life.” – Jayden Jones (17)
“The prayer walks have been such a blessing to me throughout the summer. I have enjoyed starting off my week bright and early with a Christ-centered community, praying for Beaufort along with whatever is going on in the lives of each other. It has been so special to grow closer to these girls each week and to see the power of prayer in our community. I am so grateful for the work Eliza Solomons has poured into us and the time we’ve shared together in God’s word.” – Bethany Smith (19)
“I love going to the prayer walks every Monday morning because it makes me excited to wake up early and start my day with prayer, praise, and fellowship!” – Lily Sargent (17)
This article was originally published in the Fall 2025 Jubilate Deo.
