Abolitionist Prayers for America

This past week, Creagon and I led a powerful week of prayer focused on human trafficking in America. Students and staff at YWAM Orlando came together to pray for an end to this injustice. A few of the students asked me for ways they can keep praying to see an end to modern-day slavery, and I put together this prayer guide for them [with the help of World Vision!] Join with us in regularly praying to re-abolish slavery in our country.

Pray for action

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the issue of human trafficking, but we can take action. We can speak out and insist that our elected officials support effective legislation, such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and we can support organizations & programs to end trafficking and care for survivors.

Dear Lord, just as You helped Moses and Aaron as they spoke boldly to Pharaoh on behalf of the Hebrew slaves in Egypt, help us speak up for modern-day slaves around the world.

Pray for prevention

Extreme poverty is at the root of the vast majority of trafficking around the world. Poor families are vulnerable to the tactics of traffickers, who lure their victims with the promise of well-paying jobs in other cities or countries. Once isolated from their families, victims are forced to work for little or no pay and brutalized if they try to resist. One of the best ways to prevent human trafficking is to help families become self-sufficient.

Dear Lord, most of us reading this will never experience the kind of extreme poverty that millions of people live with every day. Help us to be understanding and compassionate toward their needs. Help us to love them in the way that You love them. Give us the will to make things better.

Pray for protection

Children who are rescued from traffickers need a safe place to recover from abuse. It’s common for their former captors to try to recover what they regard as their “property.” Pray for survivors to receive emergency shelter, legal assistance, and counseling.

Dear Lord, You are a strong tower and a mighty fortress. Help Your rescued children feel safe and begin to heal. Protect them from those who seek to harm them.

Pray for restoration

Survivors of human trafficking often suffer severe psychological damage. Their hearts and spirits have been assaulted as much as their bodies. They are ashamed of what has happened to them.

Dear Lord, Your Word shows that You bring new joy and hope where previously there was only shame and fear. We ask this for our brothers and sisters, who desperately need to accept that they can be made new.

Pray for justice

The men and women who prey on the poor and the innocent need to be arrested, prosecuted, and punished for their crimes. The International Justice Mission has found that even a small number of convictions can have a major impact in reducing trafficking crime. But prosecuting traffickers can be difficult because survivors are terrified to testify against them.

Dear Lord, You demand justice for those who have been wronged. Give strength to those who investigate and prosecute traffickers. Encourage them when they are weary. Give courage to survivors when they are asked to testify against their former captors.


God's words on FREEDOM & JUSTICE:

Galatians 5:1: It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

Isaiah 61:1-3: The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, ² to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, ³ and provide for those who grieve in Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor.

2 Corinthians 3:17: Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Job 5:15-16: He saves the needy from the sword in their mouth; he saves them from the clutches of the powerful. ¹⁶ So the poor have hope, and injustice shuts its mouth.

Proverbs 31:8-9: Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. ⁹ Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.