A prayer march is currently crisscrossing its way through Scotland in the run-up to Pentecost as Scottish Christians pray for God to bring healing to their country.

Christians have been lighting the fire throughout Scotland every night since the march began on 8 April in Shetland and the march has since passed through numerous towns and villages including Inverness, Aberdeen and Glasgow as it heads south towards the country's capital, Edinburgh.

The culmination of the walk will be a prayer march through the heart of Edinburgh on Pentecost Sunday, 27 May 2007, that will head down the historic Royal Mile and pass the Scottish Parliament before walkers gather for an outdoor event in Holyrood Park.

The march is taking place under the banner of "Connecting Scotland" and is inspired by Psalm 138, which says, "I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart; before the 'gods' I will sing your praise" (NIV, Psalm 138:1).

"We have looked on silently long enough at all the other 'gods' being raised up in our nation and we seem to be protesting against them and always playing 'catch-up'," said Pastor Bert McCaig of Pray for Scotland, the ministry behind the prayer march.

He said the purpose of the prayer march was "to get praise, prayer and proclamation as found in Psalm 138 back on our agenda and for the streets of our nation to resound again with His people declaring the Name of the Lord".

Christians in Scotland have long been alarmed by the consistent rise in violent crime, drug abuse, murder, and teenage pregnancies across the country. According to the UN, Scotland is the most violent country in the developing world.

Pastor McCaig said the prayer march was not to remain "in pockets" but was to go across the whole of the country "to reclaim the ground that has been lost over the past decades".

"God inhabits the praises of His people and we long for this - not just a visitation but a habitation of the Sovereign God in our midst, where every aspect of our nation is touched and changed to bring glory to our God," he said.

Christians across the UK will join in prayer on Pentecost Sunday as part of the Global Day of Prayer. In London, 24,000 Christians will pack West Ham United FC to pray for revival in the capital, recently rocked by a string of teen killings.

The Edinburgh event will feature praise from South African worship leader Louis Brittz, as well as dance, in addition to the march.