[Please join me in praying for children, youth, and our future on Thursdays this year.]
“If you do not take the distinction between good and bad very seriously, then it is easy to say that anything you find in this world is a part of God. But, of course, if you think some things really bad, and God really good, then you cannot talk like that. You must believe that God is separate from the world and that some of the things we see in it are contrary to His will. Confronted with a cancer or a slum the Pantheist can say, ‘If you could only see it from the divine point of view, you would realise that this also is God.’ The Christian replies, ‘Don’t talk damned nonsense.’ For Christianity is a fighting religion. It thinks God made the world—that space and time, heat and cold, and all the colours and tastes, and all the animals and vegetables, are things that God ‘made up out of His head’ as a man makes up a story. But it also thinks that a great many things have gone wrong with the world that God made and that God insists, and insists very loudly, on our putting them right again.” (From “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis)
Sovereign Lord,
You are great, with limitless strength. We’ll never comprehend all that you know and do, but we know that you heal the heartbroken and bandage their wounds. Today we pray for all those who have been enslaved by the spirit of sex trafficking and abuse. In the name of Jesus, we bind the spirit of sexual addiction and abuse and release a spirit of healing upon its victims. From men and women who are sex slaves or rape victims, to teens who are sex trafficked, to children who are inappropriately touched or used, to many others I don’t want to imagine – but you know: we pray for release from their captors. Each of these victims are created very good by you, loved, and precious in your eyes; yet, each has been cheapened, degraded, and broken by abuse. We pray that your Spirit would guide rescuers to release these prisoners from darkness, guide healers to work with them for bandaging their physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual wounds, and help them to literally and figuratively get their lives “on their feet” again. We pray that law enforcement officials would prosecute the abusers and enslavers to the fullest extent of the law – no matter how much money, power, prestige, or status they have – and that they would be convicted of their crimes. But, we also pray that you would convict the hearts of perpetrators so they would repent, seek forgiveness, and be healed of their addictions. We pray that you, Jesus, will bind up these brokenhearted, comfort these who mourn and grieve, and replace the spirits of despair with your healing and even joy. We ask for your healing intervention in the strong name of Christ, so be it, Amen!
“He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
and pushes the wicked into the ditch.” (Psalm 147:2-6 MSG)
“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,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,
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.” (Isaiah 61:1-3 NIV)
“Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18 NIV)