PRAGUE—Old Town
PRAGUE—Old Town (~650 m. Google estimate 8 min. Allow 45 min).
The monuments in this square provide amazing documentation of the history of the Church in Prague. Begin in front of the Prague Astronomical Clock. Christianity was introduced to the region in the 9th 10th centuries and this clock shows things typical of medieval Christianity. On either side of the calendar face are statues representing four virtues and the statues on either side of the clock face represent vices (vanity, greed, lust) and death. In the windows near the top the 12 apostles appear every hour.
❏ Praise God for the many people who have loved and served Him in this city over the past 1200 years.
Looking to the right as you face the clock you will see the spiky towers of the Church of Our Lady Before Tyn. There has been a church on this spot since the 1000’s (although the current building is a few hundred years newer than that).
❏ Ask God to bring revival to churches in Prague (Ps 85:6-7). In the middle of the square you will see a statue of Jan Hus the pre reformer. He was a strong proponent of people reading Scripture for themselves and of reforming the church (especially overindulgent clergy). He was eventually burned for his teachings, although his followers went on to form the Hussite church and his writings survived and had a strong influence on Martin Luther.
❏ Praise God for those who translated the Bible into Czech.
❏ Pray that God would raise up more Czech believers with a strong passion to know and share the Word of God.
On the north-west corner of the square you will see St. Nicholas’ Church, a modern-day Hussite place of worship. The influence of Jan Hus and his colleagues (now referred to as the Bohemian Reformation) led to much religious and political conflict, but over time most people living in this area joined one of the various protestant churches that were forming. Then, in the 1600’s, the Habsburgs invaded, and this led to more fighting between Catholics and Protestants (including the bloody 30 Years War). The Habsburgs eventually won and forced protestants to return to the Catholic church.
❏ Ask for God’s forgiveness for all the violence that has been done in His name (Ps 130:3-4).
❏ Pray that Czechs could see Jesus through the chaos of their historic experience with the institution of church (Jn 14:6). The Czech Republic remained strongly Catholic until the end of WWI. Since then, religion in general has been on the decline. As of 2019, almost 70% of Czechs identified as “non-religious” (joshuaproject.net). There is a general attitude of fatalism and increased interest in occult activity. Recently, however, people have been coordinating city-wide prayer, and seeing a growing interest in personal spirituality. ❏ Praise God that He listens and answers when His followers cry out to Him.
❏ Pray that God would stir up a hunger for Himself.
❏ Pray for small group Bible studies happening throughout the city–that people would come and be changed.
To finish the walk, exit the square next to St. Nicholas’ Church and turn left. Take the first right and walk around to the front of the large building that fills the block. This is the City Hall–residence and meeting place of the mayor and other city officials.
❏ Pray that city leaders would govern wisely and justly. *To combine this with the Prague Castle Walk follow Kaprova street from the corner of St. Nocholas’ church, walk to the Staroměstská metro stop, and take line A to Malostranská (or continue along the street, over the river and then right at the fork in the road to get to Malostranská by foot) (~ 15 min).
PRAGUE–Castle (~2.2 km. Google estimate 31 min. Allow 2 hrs) (With extension 4.2 km. Google estimate 59 min. Allow 3 hrs.) Begin at the Malostranská metro stop. Head north on Pod Bruskou (you’ll be able to see a church steeple up ahead). Just before the street makes a large curve there will be an entrance into a park on the left and a cobblestone walkway just beyond it (if you haven’t already, you can stop in the park to go through the Prayer Walking Prep Guide). Turn left up the walkway and take the steps up to the Castle (follow signs to Pražský hrad).
You will enter the castle complex through the Black Tower. Just to the left of the entrance is a small overlook. Pause here for a moment: ❏ Read Ps 24. Praise God for establishing this city. ❏ Pray that people would open the gates of their hearts to Him. The castle (a network of buildings covering ~70,000 m²) is at the high point of the city and is the symbol of Czech rule, having been the seat of power for kings and emperors and home to the presidents (including the current one). Follow the lane under the black tower into the castle complex until you come out into an open square with a large cathedral. On the left you will see the old royal palace. In front of you is the St. Vitus Cathedral where St. Wenceslas (the same one as in the Christmas carol) is buried. A Duke of Bohemia (posthumously dubbed king) and one of the early Christians in the region, there are many legends about his kindness to the poor and needy.
❏ Pray that the leaders of the Czech Republic would seek what’s best for the nation as a whole (Phil 2:3-4).
❏ Ask God to bring men and women to power who are known for their compassionate hearts (as King Wenceslas was). Just to the right of where you entered is the red St. George’s Basilica. It is the oldest surviving Church building in Prague but has been secularized and currently houses art and concerts. The large Cathedral of St. Vitus just across from it is considered one of the most important churches in the city and is the seat of the archbishop. ❏ Ask God to restore the Church in the Czech Republic. ❏ Pray that leaders in the church would be led by the Holy Spirit and a desire to know Christ and make Him known (1 Pet 5:2-3). Exit through the archway directly across from the front of St. Vitus Cathedral. You will pass through two courtyards and come out at the Wrestling Titans statue. Walk around the castle to the left to take the walkway heading back down the hill. Just before you do stop and ❏ Pray for the welfare of this city and its inhabitants (Jer 29:7). Coming down the hill, walk ahead into the narrow street directly in front of the end of the stairs. Take the first left onto Sněmovní. Go right when the road splits around some trees and then left on Valdštejnská. After the road curves to the left you will see a fenced off park on the left-hand side. Just before the park is the Polish Embassy (you will see the flags of Poland and the EU) and just after the park is the Belgian Embassy (flying the Belgian and EU flags). There is also an international school tucked away back in the park. The area just north of here (known as Prague 6) is the location of many embassies and international schools. Because of that, many internationals chose to live in this district. ❏ Praise God for gathering so many nations in one place. ❏ Pray that the gospel to be proclaimed in Prague-6. ❏ Pray for multiplication of disciples and that those returning home would be disciple makers there (Matt 28:19-20). To end here turn right through the arch way just past the Belgian Embassy to enter the back side of the Malostranská metro. If you would like to continue to pray in the Prague 6 district for the things mentioned above use the “Optional Extension” on the following page.
PRAGUE–Castle (Optional Extension) (~2 km. Allow 45min-1hr)
Walk straight past the Beligian Embassy and turn left on Pod Bruskou. Pod Bruskou will split off to the right at the Hoffmeister Hotel. Follow it to some steps and continue up the steps and along a walking path. The path will exit onto Chotkova. Continue north past the Israeli and Spanish Embassies and across the large intersection with Městský Okruh. The road will be much narrower on the other side but keep going past the Slovakian and Egyptian Embassies. At the Chinese Embassy, turn left onto Ronalda Reagana. Take the first left (around the residence of the US Ambassador) and follow the road to the Hradčanská Metro Stop.
PRAGUE–Petrin (~1.6 km. Google estimate 33 min. Allow 2 hrs.)
Begin at the Ujezd tram stop. There is a little park on the west side of the stop if you need a place to go through the Prayer Walking Prep Guide.
At the north end of the park is the entrance to the Ujezd funicular. You may ride up one stop to Nebozizek (your tram ticket should allow you to ride as long as it is validated and still within the time limit). If you prefer to walk up, turn left at the north end of the park. At the fork keep left. Take the second branch off the path to the left and continue up until you come to the Nebozizek tram stop.
❏ Praise God for the beauty of His creation, both in nature and in those you see around you who are created in His image. ❏ Prague is known as a romantic city. Pray that those who visit here would come to know or be able to share the true love of Christ.
Head left down the path in front of the Nabozizek Restaurant. Keep right at the fork. After a while you will notice a stone wall running along the path. This is the Hunger Wall. Continuing along the path you will pass through an arch and enter a bastion of the wall. Built for defense
during a famine in the 1300’s it gets its name from stories of poor people who took jobs working on the wall in order to survive the famine. ❏ Pray that the people of Prague would look for and find provision in God (Ps 34:9-10).
❏ Pray that Czechs would accept Christ, the cornerstone, and be built up in Him (1 Pet 2:4-5).
Turn to the right as you come through the arch and continue under a second arch into another “room” of the bastion. Walk straight ahead and back out onto the path. Continue to the small open area with park benches. This observation deck is in the lower half of Petřín Park (on Petřín hill). Stones from this hill were used to build the city of Prague and this park is a piece of Czech identity related to romance and the arts.
❏ Czechs tend to have a fatalistic outlook on life. Pray that they would come to be firmly established in “a living hope through the resurrection of Christ Jesus from the dead.” (1 Pet 1:3).
❏ Pray for the creation and discovery of art in this city that would honor God and point people to Him.
From the benches you have a great view out over the city. ❏ Praise God for His presence in Prague and His people scattered throughout the city.
❏ Pray for those with a heart to reach this city as they minster through Bible studies, language lessons, sports, etc. and ask God to raise up more laborers for this harvest field (Lk 10:2).
❏ Pray for the refugees in Prague and those who are helping them settle. Pray for disciple-multiplication, and for those who return to their home countries to be disciple makers.
❏ Pray for the ministries of Prague’s Czech and International evangelical churches.
Retrace your steps to return to the bottom of the hill and the Ujezd tram stop (or, if you would like to pray through more of the park you may take the funicular up one more stop to the top of the hill).
