Angela Rigby Doble writes:

Our dog has helped us a lot during the lockdown, getting us out and exercised. He’s a great companion, full of love and joy (if not patience and self-control). When I walk him I usually pray, for my own concerns and for Conwy where I live – more recently, its closed shops and cafes, locked-up churches and empty quay. 
 
It’s been even better to prayer-walk with a friend, letting God take the lead and bring people and situations to our attention while we ‘socially-distance’ as required. 
 
A church I knew organised prayer-walks from time to time. Some would stay behind praying in support, while the rest went out in pairs and reported back afterwards. It gave the church a wonderful sense of shared purpose, and undoubtedly blessed the area. 
 
Of course, you don’t have to go out to pray for your surroundings. ‘Walking‘ in the Bible often means doing something day by day, sticking with it, making it a habit. Every day we can set out determined to keep in step with the Holy Spirit and to go God’s way. Who else knows what’s round the corner? – we certainly don’t, as the coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated. 
 
Even if our buildings are barred, even if we aren’t technical enough to connect via emails, let alone Zoom, we have so much to rejoice about and to give thanks for. God cares about us and hears our prayers – nothing external can stop that.

One evening on my solitary dog-walk I was overwhelmed with loneliness, and in that moment became aware of Jesus at my side. One of those odd experiences many would dismiss as imagination, but which Christians know are true. I found a simple prayer on the Church Mission Society website: