lenten journey, day 4 — a prayer for the exploited

There’s no gentle way to state the obvious, so I’m just going to say it: Each of the women in this photo is a prostitute. They’re on display because they’ve been forced—either by desperate circumstances or by the thriving human trafficking industry—into selling their bodies to men.

What you don’t see in this picture are children. But they’re there. Adolescent and teenage girls and boys—child prostitutes—kept out of sight for fear they will run away or attract police attention. Not that the police, who are routinely bribed with complimentary services, would do anything about it.

There are an estimated 2 million prostituted children in Asia, Latin America, and Africa. And that number will only increase as “sex tourism” becomes more popular. Yes, there are people who actually travel to areas tolerant of prostitution specifically to exploit children. And an estimated 25 percent of these “tourists” are American. What's more, an estimated 17,500 women and children are trafficked into the United States each year to satisfy the appetites of the wicked.

Is there hope for these exploited women and children? Is there rescue for them from this dark place of despair? Who will redeem them from the pit? Their only hope is El Roi, our loving "God Who Sees." May He place in me—in us—His vision for these "least of the least".

Oh, Lord. Could anything be more wicked than the exploitation of children and desperate women? Please be the God Who Sees and the God Who Saves for all those who are victims of unholy desires. Raise up men and women in the church who will go into the dark places to be the hands and feet of Jesus—the same Jesus who sought out victims and outcasts like these. Father, would you forgive me for turning a blind eye and refusing to acknowledge this wickedness because it is so unpleasant to think about? Would you create a desire in me to fight for this broken world on my knees? Please, God, redeem these lives from the pit and crown them with love and compassion. Yes, and amen.

“…They will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hands of those who enslaved them. They will no longer be plundered by the nations, nor will wild animals devour them. They will live in safety, and no one will make them afraid.” — Ezekiel 34:27-28

"He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” — Matthew 25:45