Even if you aren't reading The House That Cleans Itself with me, I encourage you to do a prayer walk in your home. For those of us with housekeeping issues, a prayer walk is cleansing and uplifting, but even the most able housekeeper will gain encouragement and help from God through a home prayer walk. Now to some people, the whole idea of a prayer walk seems weird. And praying about housekeeping? Beneath God. But as I typed last week, and as the Bible says:

"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:6-7 (emphasis mine)

Too, remember a prayer walk is nothing more or less than a way to ask God to help you become a better Proverbs 31 Woman. It is not an attempt to cleanse the building spiritually, or exorcise the house in any way.

Although Mindy Starns Clark, the author of The House That Cleans Itself, says you need uninterrupted time for a home prayer walk, with two children under 5 in the house, uninterrupted time is just a fantasy at my place. So I chose a time when both children were playing in one of the bedrooms. This meant I didn't actually walk into the bedroom while I prayed, but I still looked into the room during the walk. As I prayed and walked through our home, I was overwhelmed by the clutter and chaos I saw in every single room. Sure, I already knew my house was a cluttered mess, but somehow, doing the prayer walk made me see it all more clearly. I was in tears. But they were cleansing tears. Here are a few things I prayed about during my prayer walk: * That God would make our home a place of peace and order, not chaos. * That God would make our home a refuge. * That God would help me teach my children how to live reasonably organized, peaceful, and orderly lives. * That God would help my hubby with his own organizational issues. I also prayed for specific things, like "Help me find a way to organize my desk and keep it organized, so my work space is less stressful and time consuming." In addition, I prayed God would help keep me motivated and energized through what will be the long process of bringing our house in order. Truly, although I'd never prayer walked anything before, I know I will prayer walk our home again. Even though I look around and know it's going to be difficult to get rid of the chaos, the prayer walk increased my motivation and gave me the sure hope that I can do this - with God's help.