What is Prayer Mapping?

“The history of the target city must be studied and understood by the evangelist who takes spiritual mapping seriously. Certain key questions must be answered. For example, How and why did the city begin? Who were the founders and what were their intentions and spiritual condition? What presently characterizes the city, or, what is it known for? This and much more information is necessary in order to “map” the city. The latest demographic study of the city should be analyzed. The history of race relations must be studied along with any traumatic event the city had experienced like an earthquake, a flood, etc. With all in hand then, the demonic spirit(s) in control of the city will be identified and thus their power can be broken by the use of some appropriate human effort. For instance, if a city is characterized by pride, then the Christian response ought to be humility. This offsetting of spiritual traits, the spiritual mappers believe, is the key to breaking the demonic stronghold.”

“The demonic powers over an area must be discerned by means of demographics, histories, etc., then prayer is used, by spiritual leaders united and in one accord in the target area to break the demonic stronghold.”

[From Taking our cities for God by John Dawson]

(From the Australian Prayer Network)

“It is an attempt to see our region as it really is and not as it appears to be.” (George Otis Jnr.) He also says it is the discipline of diagnosing the obstacles to revival in a given community through fervent prayer and diligent research.

Cindy Jacobs says it is the researching of a city to discern any inroads Satan has made, which prevent the spread of the gospel and its evangelisation for Christ.

Victor Lorenzo is an experienced mapper in Argentine. He believes that prayer or spiritual mapping combines research, divine revelation, and confirmatory evidence in order to provide complete and exact data concerning the identity, strategies and methods employed by spiritual forces of darkness to influence the people and the churches in a given region.

Harold Caballeros says that what an X-ray is to a physician, prayer mapping is to intercessors.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” [Ephesians 6:12]

It reveals the conditions behind enemy lines. In other words, prayer mapping can be described as seeing a city or town, community or region from God’s perspective. And that includes its redemptive call, the seed sown into it by the early pioneers and how the enemy has gained legal ground there.

What Prayer Mapping is Not

Prayer Mapping is not an end in itself – it is a means to an end.

• It is not demon hunting or searching for names of demons, although the Holy Spirit will reveal names and/or identities where He feels we need to know.
• It is not a one person task, but teamwork.
• It is not about learning a lot of principles and carrying them out, but about doing the God appointed thing for your city.
• It is not the only way that God works in transforming the city, but it is a major component.
• It is not conclusions based on inadequate investigations. It must be done properly.
• It is not spiritual warfare, but a preparation for it.

History of Prayer Mapping

Prayer mapping is not new. There are many Biblical examples. But today, the Holy Spirit is renewing the revelation of it to the body of Christ (ref. Deuteronomy 1:22-23; Joshua 2:1; Joshua 18:4-6; Numbers 13:17-20; Ephesians 5:11).

We are moving towards the last days and the greatest harvest the world has ever known. The Lord is allowing us to be partakers with Him in certain strategic moves that will enable the church to rise up in victory for the purposes of the hour.

This fresh move of God to give us the keys of the Kingdom in prayer mapping possibly started in the mid 1980’s. Part of the paradigm shift came about because we intercessors sought God for more effective keys in spiritual warfare. A major breakthrough came in 1989 with John Dawson’s book “Taking Our Cities For God”. The result was a wake-up call to the Body of Christ.

Then in 1995 at the Global Congress on World Evangelization in Seoul, Korea, George Otis Jnr. introduced the concepts of spiritual mapping, and the rest is history. But the biggest breakthrough came in 1999 when George published “Informed Intercession”, which is now the standard research methodology for spiritual mapping.

For more information on intercession and spiritual mapping go to ausprayernet.org.au.

See also Prayer Walking and the Sydney Research (a report of Sydney’s history useful for prayer walking and mapping).