Standing in the Gap
Story by Michele Joseph
Richard Klinedinst could not sit at home in retirement. In 2010 he started walking.
The 88-year-old member of Pennsylvania Conference’s York church says he was inspired by Ron Halversen Sr.’s book Prayer Warriors. He began prayer walking in his York neighborhood and then expanded across the city. Up until 2016, he walked one-and-a-half to two-and-a-half hours each day, and logged more than 1,000 miles. Last year he fell and discontinued his daily walks. But he continues to pray. Using index cards to divide the town into 90 sections, he prays for several neighborhoods each day.
“I pray that God will bless that street, that He will cast out demons,” Klinedinst says. “I pray for every person in every house. I ask the Lord to give each one the Holy Spirit.”
His goal is to be the man God looked for but could not find in Ezekiel 22:30, who is willing to “stand in the gap before Me for the land, that I should not destroy it,” he says.
Klinedinst misses physically walking the streets, and hopes he will be able to resume his walks soon. In the meantime, he has advice for those thinking of becoming prayer walkers: “I would tell them to pray first, and make sure they are in God’s will.”
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