We will be posting video from the International Justice Mission 2017 Global Prayer Gathering when they become available, but wanted to give a brief update from our trip to DC last weekend!
It was an amazing blessing to be able to fellowship with two-thousand-plus friends "who love Jesus and love justice".
IJM founder and CEO, Gary Haugen, called us into a time of praise and worship, and an understanding of Who God is; because "before we can enter into prayers for violence against others, we need to be anchored in something that is true and unchanging. "
Scripture focus for this year's global prayer gathering was from Psalm 68:1
"May God arise, may his enemies be scattered; may his foes flee before him. "
Haugen reminded us that the Psalms are full of God's heart for justice... they were written by a man who was engulfed in a world of violence!
Does God care about the violence and abuse in our world?
Do our prayers to him really matter?
Of course, the answer is a thundering "Yes!"
He does care specifically about violence against the poor. He is moved by their cries. He gets up.
"For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice; upright men will see his face. "
-Psalm 11:7
"Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise," says the Lord. "I will protect them from those who malign them."
-Psalm 12:5
The Washington Monument was visible on our Uber drive to stay with friends who live near D.C. We enjoyed a delicious dinner with their family and caught up on what God has been doing in our lives since last year's visit! It's so encouraging to spend time with this inspiring couple. We always leave feeling challenged and uplifted to serve God heartily right where we are!
One of the encouraging things that happened this past year was the passage of the End Modern Slavery Initiative. Human trafficking is a 150-billion dollar industry with customers primarily in the United States and Europe. This is a grievous sin that Christians cannot ignore.
It was also good to hear about more involvement from the current Administration in cracking down on human trafficking in the United States. Some of the most difficult prayer sessions to attend were the ones where we heard updates from IJM field staff working directly to combat cyber trafficking of children... to think of how it grieves God's heart to see the innocence and human lives so wounded by these atrocities.
Gary Haugen attended one of the prayer sessions with us! We consider Gary to be the William Wilberforce of our time! It was a privilege to have the opportunity to thank him for allowing the Lord to lead IJM around-the-world to free those who are opposed. The answered prayers and transformed lives we heard about in these prayer sessions were both heartening and staggering.
The heavy burden of injustice around the world can be hard to bear, especially when you hear so much of it in one weekend: but these difficult moments of intensive prayer were broken up with praise and worship and Scripture reading to remind us of who God is!! He's our strong warrior who gets up and defends those who cannot defend themselves!
"You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives power and strength to the people. Praise be to God!"
- Psalm 68:35
"Praise be to the Lord, to God our Saviour, who daily bears our burdens."
- Psalm 68:19
"You may choose to look the other way but you can never say again that you did not know."
"Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to die; save them as they stagger to their death. Don’t excuse yourself by saying, “Look, we didn’t know.”
For God understands all hearts, and he sees you. He who guards your soul knows you knew. He will repay all people as their actions deserve."
Thanks for the opportunity to pray. Abide
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