FREEDOM 21 DAY 21

Thank you all for participating in Freedom 21 with us! What an incredibly historic campaign this has been!

As we end this initiative today, we want to encourage you to get involved, and to continue praying for victims to be rescued, for justice to be poured out, and for human trafficking to end!

Freedom 21 Prayer Guide: Day 21 - Awaken the Nations: A Global Call to Intercession. http://tinyurl.com/kydwg24

DAY 21 - Awaken the Nations: A Global Call to Intercession

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the desperate need for intercession for global awakening

If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. –2 Chronicles 7:14

During this initiative, the facts you have learned demonstrate just how much of a global crisis human trafficking is. However, in order for any actions taken to be effective on a global level, we must first contend in prayer for awakening on a global level.

THE 1857 – 1858 GREAT AWAKENING

A recurring component of revival at any time in any nation is the commitment to prayer and repentance. Prior to the Great Awakening of the 1850s, the United States was in decline in many respects. In 1857, two Wall Street workers, out of concern for their country, began to pray weekly for the nation to turn back to God. This weekly prayer gathering soon turned into a daily occurrence as more and more people joined, and they began to meet in churches. Revival quickly came to New York City and soon spread into other parts of the United States. It was reported that as many as 50,000 people were won to Christ from February to June of 1858!(1)

THE ENDING OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

What would have happened if these two ordinary, hard-working men had not prayed at all? What if they had left it for somebody else to do? Would revival have even occurred?

If we want to see revival and awakening take place in Mexico and the United States, it must begin with fervent prayer and repentance. Additionally, it must be seen as our responsibility, not anyone else’s. Only by carrying Mexico and the United States to the throne of God in daily prayer will we see true reformation. And the spiritual awakening of our two great nations will be the ultimate remedy for human trafficking. Not only will we see the power of God for salvation and signs and wonders, but we will also see transnational criminal organizations exposed, law enforcement empowered and protected, and victims caught in the most horrible circumstances receive their freedom.

Will you answer this call to intercession?

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, forgive me if I, in any way, have not spent time in prayer and fasting for those caught in trafficking before this prayer initiative. I now not only commit to acting on behalf of the innocent victims, but praying and fasting for them as well. In addition to this, I ask that you would awaken Mexico and the United States!

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Lord, we stand in the gap on behalf of our nations and churches, asking that You would forgive us for not standing in prayer and action for revival in Mexico and in the United States, and for those who are enslaved in trafficking. Awaken us, God! Light a holy fire for intercessory prayer and action that will break the chains of human trafficking and bring revival to the nations of the earth.

INTERCESSION

• Lord, we thank You for allowing us to come boldly before Your throne and approach You. We ask that Your people would answer the call to intercession around the world for those affected by and enslaved in human trafficking.
   
• Father of Light, we ask You to expose Satan’s work in human trafficking by uncovering hidden brothels, cartel activity, perpetrators and consumers of trafficking crimes.
   
• We pray for the emancipation of modern day slaves throughout the globe. Break their chains of bondage in all forms – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. According to Isaiah 61, You came to free the captives. Do it now, Lord, for Your glory!
   
• We declare Psalm 91 over those law enforcement agencies and anti-trafficking organizations that are working in the trenches. Protect them, Lord, and give them success in their endeavors.

PRAYER FOR AWAKENING

Please pray this final prayer with us for awakening in Mexico and the United States:

Lord Jesus, together as Americans from Mexico and the United States, with one voice and one prayer, we cry out for You to forgive our sins and heal our land in accordance with 2 Chronicles 7:14. Just as You awakened the valley of dry bones in Ezekiel 44, we ask that you would awaken our two nations to repentance and salvation that will defeat the powers and injustice of modern slavery in our time. We declare Your Kingdom come and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Awaken Mexico and the United States, and pour out Your Spirit on our two nations!

TAKE ACTION

1. We encourage you to sign up for the Reformation Prayer Network by going to www.usrpn.org where you will receive prayer alerts and articles on societal issues pertinent to the United States in many areas, including human trafficking. If you’d like to receive training on intercessory prayer and more incentives, please consider becoming a Premium member.

2. Global Impact is an international ministry that works in social development of underdeveloped parts of the world. They also are passionate about bringing freedom and purpose to victims of trafficking. To learn more about how you can partner with them, please click here.

3. Dedicate yourself to daily prayer for the victims of human trafficking, both nationally and internationally. As you pray, look for headlines in the news that will be answers to your prayer!

4. Mobilize others to pray with you. This can be done by gathering a small group of like-minded individuals to pray together on a weekly basis, or by recruiting prayer partners who will pray daily for the issue of modern day slavery.

REFERENCES

1. Thomas, Cal. ‘Concerts of prayer’ starts revivals. The Journal. 7 September 2010.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 20

DAY 20 - The Occult: Santa Muerte, Satanic Ritual Abuse, and Sacrifices

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the occult’s influence in human trafficking.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. –Ephesians 6:12

Many law enforcement agencies diligently work to expose and bring to justice those who traffic, kidnap, extort, exploit, and murder innocent victims. However, there is no doubt that our battle with criminal organizations on both sides of the border is more than a battle in the material realm; it is a battle in the spiritual realm.

In recent years, it has become evident that various forms of pagan religions and occultism associate themselves with illegal traffickers.(1) Two main deities worshipped by traffickers are:

SANTA MUERTE

Translated, this means Saint Death. Followers revere and worship death, who is depicted as a skeleton in a wedding dress or flowing robe, holding a scythe in her bony hand. Mexican authorities have linked the worship of Santa Muerte to prostitution, drug trafficking, kidnapping, smuggling, and homicides,(2) as well as human sacrifice.(3)

JESUS MALVERDE

This folklore “saint” is widely celebrated in Mexico and the United States, particularly by those involved with trafficking, and is one of the “narco-saints.” Followers believe that he aids, heals, and protects those who are faithful to him.

Law enforcement often discover altars with these and other narco-related patron saints in stash/ trafficking houses, residences, vehicles, and along smuggling routes and border crossings.(4) The Mexican government recently tore down many of these altars along the border, due to the fact that they symbolize a seemingly never-ending era of violence, trafficking, and inhuman practices.(5)

One of the incredibly hideous practices in the worship of Santa Muerte is the offering of human blood sacrifices. Brutally graphic stories have emerged detailing how many Mexican criminal organizations perform ritualistic death sacrifices as tribute to Santa Muerte, which they believe will aid and empower them in their illegal activity.

It is vital that we pray for the fall of these idols and the breaking of the demonic powers that propagate this evil.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, forgive me for any areas of idolatry in my life. There will be no other God but You. Reveal any doors I have opened to demonic activity, and deliver me from evil.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Father we stand in the gap and repent on behalf of those engaged in occult activity in the United States and Mexico. Forgive our two nations for opening demonic doors of violence and idolatry that aid in human trafficking.

INTERCESSION

• Father God, we ask that You would cause those who worship these deities to experience Your love and mercy, and, by Your grace, know You personally.
   
• We pray that You would expose those who worship these deities for the advancement of their illegal activity. Furthermore, we ask that You would expose the demonic forces behind this activity and cause the Church to war against them in prayer and fasting.
   
• We declare the rule and reign of Christ Jesus over Mexico and the United States. By the authority of Jesus’ Name and blood, we pull down the demonic structures upon which these cults have been founded.
   
• We ask that, since Your blood was shed for the sins of the world, You would cease the spilling of blood on altars made for the appeasement of unclean spirits, strongmen, and principalities.

TAKE ACTION

1. One of the best ways that you can take action on this issue is by being educated on occult practices and activity to look out for. We highly recommend Cindy Jacobs’ book, Deliver Us From Evil, which will help you to understand various occult beliefs and their influences on society. Buy the book by clicking here!

2. If you suspect any occult activity that could also be criminal in nature, contact your local authorities.

3. If you have friends or family members that you think may be involved in the occult, talk to them about the dangers of occult worship and pray daily that they may come to know Christ.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 19

DAY 19 - Laws to Protect the Innocent

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the issues unique to US-Mexico border towns.

The Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy. –Psalm 140:12

Since 2000, every U.S. state has enacted or strengthened laws banning trafficking (please click here to see each states laws from the Polaris Project). There are also strong federal laws prohibiting sex and labor trafficking.

Within the past few years, Mexico has also seen major advancement in anti-trafficking legislation. In 2007, the Mexican Congress passed the first federal law and since then, all 31 Mexican states and the Federal District (Mexico City) have undergone major law reforms when it comes to trafficking and its penalties for offenders.

The good thing is that we have the laws on the books, but just how effective are these laws? We don’t know.

THE NUMBERS

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) agrees that the official statistics underrepresent the actual number of trafficking victims and perpetrators.(1) And due to the secretive nature of the trafficking trade, victim counts are likely to remain inaccurate.

Since the implementation of these anti-trafficking laws, only 360 perpetrators have been prosecuted with 238 convictions, and only 1,264 people have been identified as trafficking victims in the United States.(2)

So the real issue becomes that the laws on the books are not adequately written, enforced, or resourced.

WINNING THE BATTLE LEGISLATIVELY

Achieving effective enforcement of trafficking laws will require dedicated citizen advocates – especially Christians. Those same legislators who received applause for passing the laws now need to be challenged to make the laws more effective. This may well involve updating the existing statutes based on lessons learned in the last decade.

One woman who is a prime example is former Mexican Congresswoman Rosi Orozco, president of the Commission United Against Human Trafficking. This once ordinary citizen was compelled to answer the call to end trafficking in Mexico by becoming involved legislatively. Her work, primarily in Mexico City, has shut down trafficking rings and strip clubs harboring prostitution in the Zona Rosa, and by working politically in the nation she has been able to effectively pass major laws against trafficking in its various forms.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Lord, forgive me is I have not cared about the legal battle for innocent victims. I ask that you would give me ideas and show me ways that I can get involved on behalf of survivors from a legislative perspective.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Father, we confess that we have often declared righteousness but failed to work for righteousness. Help us to be true in word and deed. Grant us your wisdom to know how to address this issue in our own communities.

INTERCESSION

• Father God, give Your people favor as we advocate for more effective legislation and more comprehensive enforcement regarding human trafficking.
   
• Bring the issue of sex trafficking to the forefront of the media, making the public and our legislators keenly aware of the pervasiveness of this issue.
   
• Turn the hearts and minds of legislators toward being receptive to passing more effective human trafficking laws. Bring conviction and wisdom to our legislators regarding the need to update statutes and develop strategies for better enforcement of them.
   
• I pray for the exposure and removal of any corruption related to sex trafficking in the government of my state and nation.
   
• Lord, bring a spiritual awakening among legislators and the law enforcement community, uniting and empowering them to be a more effective force to fight evils such as sex trafficking.

TAKE ACTION

1. The Justice Society does incredible work for the ending of modern day slavery. One of their primary focuses is the management of the Court Observation team, whose members attend court proceedings on behalf of youth who have been trafficked. To see how you can get involved, please click here.

2. Get involved in your government on a local level forming petitions and connecting with legislatures. that will aid in helping human trafficking survivors once they are rescued and possibly in the court system.

3. Many times, the voice of an organization is more powerful than that of just one person. Speak to an accredited human rights/anti-trafficking organization who is interested in the development of legislation that protects the innocent in order to see how you can get involved.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 18

DAY 18 - Border Towns: A Ripe Environment for Exploitation

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the issues unique to US-Mexico border towns.

No longer will violence be heard in your land, nor ruin or destruction within your borders, but you will call your walls Salvation and your gates Praise. –Isaiah 60:18

A border town is a gateway into and out of a nation where people and goods continually cross back and forth. It is a place where cultures collide and blend to such a degree that it can be difficult to distinguish which country you’re really while you’re there.

A UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT

Border towns create an environment of opportunities where:

• Individuals find work either enforcing or avoiding the laws of the area.
• Companies use national differences in regulations to pursue their advantage and agenda.
• Societies thrive on the differences between both sides, of which people and institutions come to exploit the niches in the environment.(1)

The result is a culture of exploitation, conditions of hardship, and motivations for revolt.(2)

AN OPEN WOUND

As the cultures of the United States and Mexico collide at the border, a policy of both sides exploiting the other has caused a gaping wound between our two nations. US citizens look for a quick fix or a good time through cheap labor, prostitutes, drugs, etc., while unethical elements from the Mexican side sometimes exploit the residents of border towns to make fast money. In this environment, red light districts – and by natural extension, human trafficking – flourish.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, I repent if I lacked awareness, compassion, and intercession for the struggles faced daily by those living in border towns.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Lord, on behalf of our two nations, we repent for acting wrongly towards the people of our neighboring nation. Forgive us for harboring unforgiveness and resentment towards one another over the past and over the actions of government leaders and forefathers. We repent for all the ways we have not been good neighbors, and for all the ways we have exploited one another. Forgive us for not loving one another according to Your command.

INTERCESSION

• We pray that our two nations would commit to loving and unselfishly helping each other.
   
• We seek You for the grace to love and live as good neighbors, and for godly wisdom to overcome our differences.
   
• Father God, impart Your just and righteous characteristics to the hearts and minds of our local, state, and national government leaders.
   
• Teach us how to demonstrate Your humility and love for one another in meaningful and tangible ways.
   
• Lord, we bless our neighboring nation and their leaders with godly wisdom and passion for justice.
   
• Give our leaders and the people of our two nations hearts to know You and walk in Your ways.
   
• Father, I bless my nation with a spirit of mercy, reconciliation, and healing. I bless my neighboring nation with Your protection, provision, and economic stability.

TAKE ACTION

1. If you are a church or ministry leader, consider “adopting” a church in a border town. Find out how you can support them in prayer and other initiatives.

2. If you are a church or ministry leader in a border town, reach out to a church or ministry leader in the town you share your border with. Come together with prayer and activism in your communities.

3. Bless Mexico! Well of Life Ministries in Mexico City is working to restore rescued survivors and fight human trafficking on many levels in Mexico. To see how you can support this organization and its rescued survivors, please click here.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 17

DAY 17 - The Role of Organized Crime in Trafficking

 

Today we will focus our repentance and intercession on the identification and dismantling of Transnational Crime Organizations (TCOs ), as well as major pedophile offenders.

You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, defending the fatherless and the oppressed, so that mere earthly mortals will never again strike terror. –Psalm 10:17-18

As organized crime becomes more global, Mexico has become a major destination, transit point and supplier of victims for sex trafficking. Drug cartels have moved into this horrific trade, preying on immigrant women in particular. There are two aspects of their business that have made the threat so formidable:

1. Enormous profit: The average age of the cartels’ victims is 11 years old. Unlike drugs, which can only be sold once, people can be sold again and again. TCOs are profiting greatly off the appetites of child predators and sexual perverts around the world.
    
2. Corruption: Due to the immense volume of illicit gain financially, it is not uncommon to see widespread corruption in law enforcement and the highest places of government influence, as well as the private sector which includes travel agencies, model agencies, marriage bureaus, hotels, construction companies, and internet businesses.

In the United States, state-wide prison gangs are also a growing organized crime threat. Many of them work directly with the Mexican cartels, and access to large profits from drug and human trafficking makes them less dependent on robberies, burglaries, and larcenies as a source of income.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, forgive me for any way I have personally given in to greed and the lust of the flesh that allow these illegal trades to flourish.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Father God, we repent for allowing the huge financial benefit of this illicit slave trade to become a significant part of the USA and Mexico’s economies. Forgive our nations for at times giving more funding and attention to environmental climate conditions than to our children and their wellbeing. Forgive us for neglecting to provide tools and biblical values, which contributes to poverty in the USA and Mexico where these children are taken as enslaved chattel for pedophiles. We repent for the unchecked corruption that has been allowed to grow within businesses, official governmental offices, and national police and military forces.

INTERCESSION

• Sovereign God, expose and destroy the strongholds/principalities over the nations of the USA and Mexico where child sex trafficking is unbridled. Cause there to be an outcry over this atrocity among the peoples of our two nations. Establish a spirit of justice and righteousness.
   
• We ask You to expose and destroy organized crime networks such as the Russian and Albanian organized crime families, the Chinese Triads, Japanese Yakuza, and the seven major Mexican cartels and US gang affiliates that serve as surrogates for the cartels in the facilitation of trafficking. Take down and dismantle these gangs, which include MS-13, Tango Blast, Mexican Mafia and the Aryan Brotherhood. Bring division in their camps and cause them to crumble (Luke 11:17).
   
• Lord, create confusion, terror, paranoia, financial loss and overwhelming remorse (that many would come to faith in Christ Jesus) within these organized crime networks. Bring women and children being held captive to instant freedom in the confusion (Deut. 7:23, Ex. 23:27).
   
• Expose the locations of major pedophiles from the nations of the United States and Mexico. Arrest, convict, and deliver them so that they would stop exploiting these enslaved children.
   
• Father, impart and infuse hope to the children currently being held captive in our two nations and in nations throughout the globe. Mighty God, deliver them and rescue them from evil predators.

TAKE ACTION

1. Download the Freedom App (available through the App store or Google Play) on your iPhone, Android smartphone, or newer Blackberry. This free app allows any citizen in any nation in the world to report known or suspected traffickers and/or victims. Information will be analyzed and acted on by the team of Orphan Secure, with priority given to cases involving children.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 16

DAY 16 - Labor trafficking

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the plight of labor trafficking.

Pay them their wages each day before sunset, because they are poor and counting on it. Otherwise they may cry to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty of sin.
–Deuteronomy 24:15

According the International Labor Organization, over 12 million people around the world are victims of labor trafficking – a form of slavery in which individuals perform their work through the use of force, fraud or coercion. This includes, but is not limited to, situations of debt bondage, forced labor and involuntary child labor.(1)

LABOR ABUSE IN THE UNITED STATES

Industries most frequently associated with labor abuse include:

  - Construction
  - Landscaping
  - Restaurants
  - Hotels
  - Domestic businesses

It can be very difficult to identify victims as they are usually kept as secluded as possible. Immigrant workers are particularly vulnerable to exploitation, especially if they are in the country illegally.

The United States is also the largest consumer of goods produced at the expense of slaves around the world. Coffee, sugar, chocolate, and cotton are just a few examples.(2)

LABOR ABUSE IN MEXICO

Mexico is tangled up in labor trafficking as a large source, transit, and destination country in the following ways:(3)

• Vulnerable Mexican nationals are particularly abused as domestic servants, street beggars, and construction workers – both at home and in the US.
   
• Victims in transit from Central and South America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Asia, and Africa come through Mexico on their way to the United States, but also end up enslaved in Mexico.
   
• Mexican men and boys from rural areas are used as forced laborers in northern Mexico, while victims from Central America are used in agricultural areas in southern Mexico.

For those caught in the trap of labor trafficking, the joy of service is fleeting as they quickly find themselves in abusive and unsafe conditions. What began as a promising opportunity to serve and/or make a living turns into a nightmare of captivity.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, forgive me if I, in any way, have been so focused on fulfilling my own desires and needs that I have neglected to consider the expense of others.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Lord, we repent for greed and the devaluing of human life in our two nations. Forgive us for establishing systems that allow and even, at times, require the exploitation of desperate individuals. We repent for tolerating this activity in our communities and ignoring the basic rights and dignity of those victimized.

INTERCESSION

• God, we pray for the breakup, arrest, and just prosecution of human smuggling rings.
   
• We cry out for the protection and effectiveness of law enforcement, border patrol, and military personnel seeking to dismantle the human trafficking problem in our two nations.
   
• Lord, we ask You to convict the hearts of business owners and operators who have sought unjust gain through the abuse of their laborers. Cause them to turn from their ways and make restitution to those they have wronged.
   
• God of Justice, create a culture for godly human rights to protect migrant workers and other hardworking individuals in our two nations.

TAKE ACTION

1. Be a conscientious consumer. Find out what your slavery footprint is and make some adjustments to your lifestyle.

2. Find out if products and businesses you use are treating their workers fairly. Click here for a list of companies committed to Fair Trade.

3. If you see or suspect trafficking, report it.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 15

DAY 15 - The Use of Sex, Power, and Control

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the manipulative use of force and control behind sex trafficking.

What leads to strife (discord and feuds) and how do conflicts (quarrels and fighting) originate among you? Do they not arise from your sensual desires that are ever warring in your bodily members? You are jealous and cover (what others have) and your desires go unfulfilled…You burn with envy and anger and are not able to obtain (the gratification, the contentment, and the happiness that you seek), so you fight and war… –James 4:1-2

DEHUMANIZATION

Individuals who buy sex reveal that they have the ability to de-humanize and commodify their victims. Here are some of their attributes:

1. An anger outlet – they beat and abuse their victims.
2. They view their victims as a public convenience or amenity, like going to a restaurant to dine.(1)
3. They seek an outlet for the lowest level of perversion (pedophilia, pornography scene reenactment, etc.).(2)

POWER AND CONTROL

Bottom line, much of this comes down to power and control. There is an obsession to manipulate, control, and inflict pain upon their victims. They have exchanged the truth and beauty of a sexual relationship in a covenantal, God-sanctioned marriage for the animal-like sexual behavior (Romans 1:24-25).

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, we repent for any unforgiveness we might have towards anyone who has wronged us on a personal level in these areas. We also ask You to search our hearts and expose anyway we might have manipulated, abused, or controlled others.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Father God, we now stand in the gap on behalf of our nation and ask forgiveness for the sins of our society that provoke such destructive behavior in our lands. Forgive us, as citizens, as citizens, for not seeing the need for strong laws to defend those being trafficked. We also repent for not being a voice that demands the true enforcement of current anti-trafficking laws.

INTERCESSION

• Father God, I ask that You would reveal human trafficking going on in my city. Where there is corruption, expose it and bring every evil thing to light.
   
• We recognize that power, control, and the need to dehumanize another person are at the root of sexual assault and human trafficking. Therefore, we pray today that homes, schools, and churches across our two nations will be places where children feel safe, affirmed, and see and learn healthy boundaries.
   
• We pray that You would target the hearts of men caught in this perversion with Your love and conviction.

TAKE ACTION

1. The White Rose Movement fights human trafficking by restoring girls and women who have been exploited by (or through) the sex industry. Learn how you can partner with them by clicking here.

2. Take every opportunity to instill a sense of tremendous value for people in the younger generation so that they would see themselves and others as individuals to protect and nurture, not manipulate and exploit.

3. HOPE+RESQ works to raise awareness and prevention of trafficking by utilizing the tool of media. To learn more please click here.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 14

DAY 14 – Law ENforcement

 

Today we will focus our prayers and repentance on law enforcement professionals and the huge challenges they face.

Have confidence in your leaders and submit to their authority, because they keep watch over you as those who must give an account. Do this so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no benefit to you. –Hebrews 13:17

On any given day, law enforcement professionals in the US and Mexico face a huge range of challenges including:

• Potentially dangerous situations as they protect and serve their communities.
• Ideological extremists willing to use violence as means to achieve their end.
• Daily exposure to human indecency and pain.
• A suspicious and sometimes hostile public.
• General lack of funding and resources to carry out the expectations placed upon them.

ADDING THE ISSUE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The rampant rise of human trafficking has resulted in its own set of additional challenges. Personnel lack training for identifying victims and techniques for investigating traffickers. There is a lack of standardized guidelines for handling cases and emergency protocol for dealing with rescued victims.

Strong laws do exist in many of our cities, states, and nations, but there is often a gap between the laws on the books and the ability of law enforcement agencies to use these laws to build strong cases.

Law enforcement agencies cannot be expected to shoulder the burden this fight alone. They need the support and partnership of average citizens in prayer and action.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, I repent if there have been times I have spoken or thought negatively of the law enforcement profession. Forgive me for taking for granted the risks they face daily to protect my community.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

God, forgive Your Church for not lifting up our law enforcement professionals in prayer with more frequency. Forgive us for not seeing them as partners in our visions for our communities. Forgive us for leaving them to carry the burden of lawlessness alone and not speaking up when we see or suspect criminal activity taking place.

INTERCESSION

• Father, release strategy and wisdom for protocol in how to handle victims when rescued and how to prosecute those who enslave them. We pray that law enforcement and Christian organizations would work together effectively to provide immediate and long-term assistance for those rescued.
   
• God, help local, state, and federal levels of law enforcement improve interagency coordination and communication. Bring about collaboration and information sharing between the governmental agencies of Mexico and the USA, resulting in more arrests and convictions of leaders of sex trafficking organizations.
   
• We pray for successful media campaigns which will educate the public and professionals in how to identify sex trafficking victims and how to report suspicious activity to the police.
   
• Grant police agencies adequate training, resources, and manpower to successfully investigate sex trafficking crimes, rescue victims, make arrests, and build cases against perpetrators.
   
• Protect our law enforcement officers and their families from harm. Encourage them, and let them know that there are thousands of Christians praying for their safety and success.

TAKE ACTION

1. Contact the non-emergency number of your local police department and find out the procedure for reporting suspicious activity. Then be alert in your community.

2. If you know of or suspect trafficking, you can report it here through Polaris Project, who will in turn feed the information to appropriate law enforcement agencies.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 13

DAY 13 – The Need for Resources

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the need for resources for fighting human trafficking.

Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My Name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me but The One who sent Me. –Mark 9:37

One of the most unfortunate elements in domestic minor sex trafficking is the lack of resources for our children. They are shuffled around the system, often labeled as a criminal or a bad kid making bad choices, without services that provide holistic healing. Here’s why:

1. The federal government has been largely relying on Child Protective Services to provide services for American children victimized by this crime. The child welfare field, like many other government structures, has been unprepared to handle cases regarding human trafficking mainly because of the complex misunderstandings.(1) In addition, CPS will often disengage if the child becomes involved with the juvenile justice system.(2)
    
2. Private funding for safe homes and other resources has flowed to third-world countries, leaving American children without safe homes, licensed trauma counseling, protection, and other needed services for healing. In the entire United States, it has been estimated that there are only 358 beds for American children who have been sold into sexual slavery. Only about 50 of these are faith-based.
    
3. In Mexico, there is an all-around lack of funding and attention to the needs of human trafficking victims. There are currently only three facilities in the entire country specifically focused on providing after-care for sex trafficked minors, in spite of research by the Mexican Human Rights Department indicating between 20,000 and 50,000 women and children are trafficked each year (specifically Mexican nationals).(3) The Mexican government seems to be counting on international humanitarian organizations to step in with solutions and resources.

With a lack of holistic healing programs and funding, judges, probation officers, CPS and other agencies, desperate for a place for these children, turn to inadequate services.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, forgive me if I, in any way, have not paid attention to the brokenness of those who have been victimized by these horrendous crimes. I repent if I have not helped to meet and provide the restorative needs so crucial in seeing victims recover and reintegrated into society.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Today we acknowledge that in our two nations, our vulnerable children are caught in the middle of a broken legal system. We ask Your forgiveness that as the Church and as a nation, we have done virtually nothing to change this situation. Forgive us and our nation for ways in which we have devalued women and children and left them to fend for themselves. We acknowledge Your Word: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute (Proverbs 31:8).” Lord, we repent that we who are free have not spoken up for those who are not free to speak for themselves.

INTERCESSION

• We call out to You, El Shaddai, the God who is more than enough, asking You to release abundant provision for the rescuing and restoring of victims of sex trafficking.
   
• Bring to light the ineffectiveness of the system, and make the public, government and law enforcement aware of the inadequacies.
   
• We pray that Your Church would lead the way in finding creative, godly, and effective strategies to fix the legal and governmental system that our vulnerable women and children are trapped in.
   
• Lord, raise up houses of restoration within Your Church to provide safe havens for sex trafficking victims.
   
• Lord, we recognize that the problems of sex trafficking are so complex that we can never fix the problem in the wisdom of man. We ask for Your supernatural wisdom to know how to put an end to this evil.
   
• Even as You used Abraham Lincoln to abolish slavery during the Civil War, we ask You to raise up and anoint modern day reformers to overturn the evil of human trafficking.

TAKE ACTION

1. Give. Plain and simple. At the end of this prayer guide is a list of vetted, respected organizations on the front lines of the fight against human trafficking, and they need to be resourced. All of them need finances. Additionally many of them need supplies, furnishings for safe houses, equipment, security, etc.

REFERENCES

1. “Building Child Welfare Response to Child Trafficking.” Center for the Human Rights for Children, Loyola University Chicago. http://www.luc.edu/chrc/pdfs/Building_Child_Welfare_Response_to_Child_Trafficking.pdf

2. “Rapid Field Assessment of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking.” Shared Hope International. http://sharedhope.org/wpcontent/ uploads/2012/09/Domestic-Minor-Sex-Trafficking-Field-Assessment-Harris-and-Galveston-Cty.pdf

3. Yu, Benny. President & Co-Founder, 27Million. www.27million.com

FREEDOM 21 DAY 12

DAY 12 – Technology, Social Media, and the Internet Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the perverted misuse of technology, social media, and the internet. They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity… –2 Peter 2:19 There are many technological methods used by human traffickers to recruit their victims and effectively advertise to their consumers. Here are a few: Social Media: Traffickers often solicit young girls on social media sites by posing as prospective boyfriends, spamming a large number of girls’ inboxes with flattering messages or job offers, and taking advantage of adolescents during their formative years.   Online Job Offers: Victims are often offered a job (modeling opportunities, waitressing, dancing gigs, etc.) from an unknown online source and are lured in with false hopes for a better life.   Cell Phones: Oftentimes perpetrators will use prepaid cell phones to make calls and conduct business. Prepaid phone providers do not require any identification to purchase a phone, allowing traffickers to network without any trace of their identity.   Internet Sites: Pornographic websites are widely used by traffickers; many times pornographic movies are made by using their victims in scenes. Traffickers will also feature a paid, live webcast of their victims performing sex acts in order bring in more revenue. Sites featuring local classified ads, such as Craigslist.org, have also been under scrutiny for facilitating the business of traffickers who post their victims in the ‘adult services’ section. In addition to this, classified online ads and websites featuring dating opportunities, nannies, maids, massage services, and mail-order brides can be the marketing technique of trafficking networks. Although traffickers use the internet for their own business gains, and we should be aware of the dangers it possesses, law enforcement is also effectively utilizing technology to catch the perpetrators. To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here. PERSONAL REPENTANCE Father God, in Jesus’ Name, forgive me personally if I have spent more time seeking personal satisfaction, comfort, and attachment through technology, social media, and the internet rather than looking to You for authentic relationship, companionship, and comfort. CORPORATE REPENTANCE Today, we stand in the gap for parents in our two nations who are distracted and neglecting their responsibility to watch over the time and the content with which children are engaging on the Internet. Forgive us all for leaving a generation of children unguarded to those who would seek to bring them harm. INTERCESSION Mighty God, protect our children and young people from falling into the trap of predators seeking to enslave them in the sex trade through technology, social media, and the internet.   Father, give wisdom, discernment, and information to young people about the traps and snares of false promises of dating relationships, jobs, and other online offers that would lead them into the sex trade.   Heavenly Father, convict and deliver those who use internet pornography, turning their hearts to You for peace and satisfaction.   We ask You, God, to give tips, leads, and successful technological strategies to law enforcement agencies to identify, arrest, and convict sex trafficker and put an end to sex trafficking organizations from using social media, and the internet.   Father God, convict the owners of classified websites to screen and qualify all ads to prevent sexual exploitation and predators. We pray for strict laws to be enacted, preventing the use of social media for sex trafficking and related activities. TAKE ACTION 1. If you are either solicited by a trafficker, are a victim of human trafficking, or suspect trafficking activity, call the Polaris Project human trafficking hotline at 1-888-373-7888. You can also text INFO or HELP to BeFree (233733). 2. Inform others about the technological methods used by traffickers in order to prevent trafficking from occurring and to protect the lives of the young and innocent.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 11

DAY 11 – The need for Local Involvement

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the need to be locally involved regarding human trafficking.

There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be known. –Matthew 10:26

WHAT IF WE WERE ALL PAYING ATTENTION?

The global sex trafficking problem is based on the reality that sex slaves are treated as chattel — movable goods or livestock with economic value to their owners. The cash flow generated internationally has a local profit motive along the pipeline. Someone secures the sex slaves; someone gets paid for transporting them; and someone gets their cut networking service outlets until the victims are delivered at the local level. If the local providers were stopped, the buyers would not be able to victimize.

EYES AND EARS

What if we were all eyes and ears to stop trafficking on the local level?

Here are some common locations local providers and traffickers use for their discreet business:

1. Hotels
2. Truck stops
3. Gas Stations
4. Massage Parlors/Strip Parlors
5. Local Houses/Rental Houses
6. Bars/Restaurants
7. Nail Salons

NEIGHBORHOOD AND LOCAL WATCHES

Local activism and awareness training are essential to stopping human trafficking. We encourage you to receive some form of training from a local anti-trafficking organization or educate yourself on trafficking in your state. Please click here to see more from the Polaris Project, where you can browse through information specially tailored to your home state.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, I repent if I have not been involved on behalf of those who are victims of trafficking. Forgive me for being apathetic and for not desiring to be eyes and ears that will see, hear, and report trafficking activity.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Father, we stand on behalf of our nation, repenting for aiding human trafficking by not being aware or active. Forgive us for allowing trafficking to continue while being apathetic to its injustice. We repent for not being involved in our communities and neighborhoods and for not preventing human trafficking from occurring.

INTERCESSION

• Father, we ask for the hearts and minds of community leaders to be made receptive to addressing local manifestations of the trafficking industry.
   
• Father of Light, reveal and expose every place in my community, state, and nation where human trafficking has a foothold. Uncover and make public the whereabouts of these places where trafficking rings operate.
   
• Call Your Church to take their place as watchmen on the walls of their communities, being alert to and reporting suspicious activity that would lead to the arrest and conviction of trafficking perpetrators and ring leaders.

TAKE ACTION

1. As we just prayed, not only do we need to be watchmen in prayer, but also watchmen in our neighborhoods and communities. Be encouraged to become a neighborhood watchvolunteer.

2. To educate your community about domestic minor sex trafficking, become anAmbassador for Change through StreetLight USA and be part of identifying opportunities.

3. Join your local Chamber of Commerce and encourage them to stand against local businesses supporting trafficking and adult services.

4. Speak out against trafficking in your local paper. Write truthfully and gracefully, and you will write well.

5. Partner with ministries and groups bringing education to ethnic groups, including conversational (ESL) English courses.

BE FREE in SD Freedom 21

As we are praying with Freedom 21 prayer initiative headed up by Reformation Prayer Network, we are targeting the evil injustice of human trafficking in prayer across our state and nation.
At this time I would like to introduce to you a ministry in our state of South Dakota who is primarily dealing first hand with human trafficking within our very state. It is Be Free ministry based out of Sioux Falls, SD. This ministry is headed up by Rev. Susan Omanson and Rev. Kimberly Kaveney in Sioux Falls who are painstakingly serving victims of this evil injustice.
I have asked Be Free ministry if SDAPN could partner with them in prayer to lift them up in prayer and support in any way possible. They have written some prayer bullets of needs and request for prayer as following:

1. Survivor after-care including resources for particular housing for trafficked victims which is a current gap in SD.

2. Prayer for the ministry provided by Be Free including prayer ministry, counseling, life coaching and resource development for survivors.

3. General financial resources for Be Free to provide ongoing care for survivors.

4. Collaboration of organizations within the issue here in SF and SD.

5. Spiritual warfare around the women and their situations.

6. Awareness of the issue in SD

Let us join together in prayer as a state for Be Free ministry as they pursue to setting the captives free regarding the problem of human trafficking in our state of SD.
If you would like more information regarding this valuable ministry, please connect with them on their website: http://www.befree58.org/

Also on their website you will see the 5 minute video that they have put out regarding this subject. And as Holy Spirit puts it on your heart, I am sure they would welcome a very much needed monetary gift that you can give also on their website.

Let us lift up in prayer Be Free ministry at this time. Thank you once again for standing in the gap in prayer for our state of South Dakota.

Freedom 21 Day 10

DAY 10 – Poverty

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance towards the crisis of poverty that makes people vulnerable to exploitation.

Do not exploit the poor because they are poor, and do not exploit the needy in court.
–Proverbs 22:22

Poverty creates the perfect storm for traffickers to find easy prey and for impoverished individuals to grasp at any thread of hope, no matter how fragile.

In the United States, this can be hard to understand because even our impoverished are often better off than the average international family. And when it comes to domestic trafficking, family dysfunction and abuse are far more common stateside catalysts.

ACROSS THE BORDER

In Mexico, an estimated 60 million people (46.2%) live below the poverty line.(1) These tough economic conditions cause migration for employment to be a necessity. This, in turn, increases the vulnerability of the population to the lures and lies of traffickers.

The cycle often looks like this:

• A trafficker approaches an impoverished family, offering one of them a job and/or passage to the US, all expenses covered.
• Desperate to feed their families, a family member will agree to leave his or her home.
• Upon arrival, they are told they have to work off the cost of their trip. They are threatened with deportation, harm to their families, etc. Traffickers confiscate paperwork (i.e. passports, travel cards, and documents) and keep the individual in isolation. Money earned rarely makes it into the hands of the victim.

Variations of this cycle are continuously being discovered, not only in Mexico, but around the globe. This indicates that a critical component required to end human trafficking is addressing the issue of poverty.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, forgive me when I have failed to be generous to those in need around me. Forgive me, for everything that I have comes from You and is intended to be used for Your Glory.

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Forgive us, Your Church, for not being compassionate toward those in our midst who need food, clothing, and medical care. Forgive us for our lack of prayer and lack of focused attention on finding solutions for eradicating poverty in both Mexico and the USA. We ask forgiveness for all the ways our two nations have opened the door to the curse of poverty by enacting unrighteous laws, worshipping other gods, and dishonoring You with our words and actions. Have mercy, Lord, forgive our sin, and heal our land.

INTERCESSION

• Heavenly Father, we ask You to impassion and equip Your Church to meet the needs of the poor and vulnerable by providing food, clothing, shelter, education, and medical care.
   
• Empower Your Church to create employment opportunities for victims and survivors of sex trafficking, that they would not be tempted to return to their previous life out of desperation.
   
• Holy Spirit, speak to Church leaders about ways they can offer biblical and practical training to help the impoverished break free of financial difficulties and become stable stewards of Your blessings.
   
• Reveal strategic solutions for problems in our education systems, so more of our populations will be equipped to find fulfilling careers and to adequately care for their families.
   
• God, raise up Christians as tutors and mentors who will come alongside young people who are struggling or thinking of dropping out of school.
   
• Father, impart wisdom to our government leaders to enact legislation that helps break the poverty cycle, and empowering our nations to prosper.
   
• Pour out Your Spirit upon our two nations, drawing people to Jesus Christ and the principles of the Bible, which leads to abundant life.

TAKE ACTION

1. Work diligently to get yourself and your family out of debt, breaking the cycle of the debtor being a slave to the lender. One well-recognized resource is Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.

2. Get involved in helping the poor in your immediate community. Find a food pantry you can donate to or volunteer at. Participate in a back-to-school drive that helps struggling families get the needed supplies for their children.

FREEDOM 21 DAY 9

DAY 9 – Unbridled Appetites

 

Today we will focus our prayer and repentance on the issue of unbridled appetites in the United States and Mexico.

Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
–1 John 2:15-17

We live in what can quite accurately be described as a consumer culture. We want what we want, and we want it now. Discipline and moderation increasingly become foreign concepts, as we see no need to curb or check our appetites. We do not know how to tell ourselves “no.”

The harsh reality is that the problem of human trafficking would not exist if there was not a demand. Women and children would not suffer these atrocities if there were not people willing to pay for it. Globally, human trafficking generates approximately $32 billion in profits every year. It is the fastest growing enterprise of organized crime. What these figures translate into is that for every woman or child rescued, there will always be more forced to take their places because enough people have an insatiable appetite for any type of sexual activity (porn included) to make it a thriving business for the traffickers.

CONTROLLING OUR APPETITES

If we truly want to see an end to trafficking, it will begin with a restoration of purity and discipline in the Body of Christ in the United States and Mexico. It will begin with a willingness to recognize that when we do not rein in our unhealthy appetites, we create an atmosphere where bondage and ultimately death are given permission to flourish (James 1:13-15).

Women and children will be safe from the horrors of trafficking when their worth is deemed to be more valuable than the satisfaction of fleshly desires.

To read the full USRPN article on this issue, please click here.

PERSONAL REPENTANCE

Father, I repent personally if I have any unbridled appetites. Forgive me for not possessing the spirit of self-control when it comes to the feeding of my cravings (food, spending, shopping, sexual addictions, etc.).

CORPORATE REPENTANCE

Father God, we now stand in the gap on behalf of our nations and repent for the sins of lust, promiscuity, and pornography that have opened the door to all forms of sexual perversion in our two nations, unleashing the horrific physical, spiritual, and emotional violence that permeates the sex trade. Forgive us, God, for the sin of greed, which is allowing businesses to profit from the misery of those trafficked and sold into slavery. Forgive us for our complacency in prayer. Forgive us that we have not cried out to You to rid our land of this evil. We repent for supporting the Transnational Criminal Organizations and their criminal activities by spending billions of dollars on trafficked girls and boys, destroying the innocent for illicit and lustful gain.

INTERCESSION

• Lord, re-establish Your truth and standard of sexual purity in our nations. Bring Your deliverance to those lost in sexual addiction. Help us return to Your Word and Your purpose for our lives and those of future generations.
   
• Father of Light, expose the serious atrocities of the epidemics of sex trafficking, prostitution use, promiscuity, and addiction to pornography throughout Mexico and the US.
   
• Stir our national leadership to respond with immediate and godly solutions to these serious problems in our schools, entertainment, advertising, and society that lead to sexual bondage.

TAKE ACTION

1. Exodus Cry, the ministry that released the award-winning documentary Nefarious, is currently working on the second video in its trilogy that exposes the depths of human trafficking on a global scale. This second video will focus on our sexualized culture, full of unbridled appetites that fuel trafficking. To get involved with or donate to Exodus Cry, please click here.

2. Invest in the next generation by mentoring them one on one and encouraging their commitment to purity. Read about Unearthed, an organization with a desire to stop sexual exploitation by raising up a pure and whole generation, here.