I’m in a city in the Philippines, known for its sex tourism. The next four days we will be going into bars pulling women out of the dark reality theyre enslaved to. Tonight is our second night and before we left I got sick, so I’ve stayed back spent the last 5 hours praying over my friends going into bars, and the people they encounter.
this is what i wrote:
Dad, I don’t know who to talk to right now – so i run to you. which sucks. i hate that part of myself. the ignorant part of myself that thinks the burden of my brokenness is too much for you, and because of that ignorance, i hate that in that very brokenness i choose to run to you second.
Dad, my heart aches. Why is it that a reality of this broken world, is to travel to the ends of the earth for sex? unfulfilling. empty. meaningless sex.
Why are these men animals? Undressing woman with his eyes; stripping woman of her dignity leaving her naked and vulnerable. Why do they use their bodies to degrade and destroy woman? Leaving her feeling worthless and empty.
Dad, I hate to generalize man, but right here, in the middle of a street full of bars, full of man, i can’t help but generalize man. i feel sick by this version of man.
Dad, would you just take this from me? Help me see with eyes of compassion and love, because my flesh fails to do so. BE MY STRENGTH.
Dad, as my brothers and sisters go into bars tonight: guide them, anoint them, may every pair of eyes that see them, every voice that speaks to them, and every ear that hear them realize they are different. set apart. Holy Spirit, take over every one of their minds, hearts and actions. Soften their hearts to empathize but strengthen their hearts to empower. Be the Rock on which they stand. May grace, mercy, love, and compassion be extended upon every man and woman they meet. May the enslaved be liberated. Free them. Allow your FREE PEOPLE to break the chains of the atrocity that is: sex slavery, in the name of Jesus.
May every knee bow. Every tongue declare & every life proclaim You are God.
In 1 Kings 18 – the prophets of baal fall to their faces proclaiming You are God. PROPHETS OF ANOTHER “god” – are so moved by WHO YOU ARE, they FALL TO THEIR FACES IN AWE. and go on, proclaiming the Truth.
May every aspect of darkness flee and be overcome by the light that is liberation. may liberation reign. May every kingdom warrior be protected, strengthened, and anointed. May those who idolize sex, alcohol, & addiction be made aware that “no one can serve two masters. either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Luke 16:13
May those who idolize sex, be made aware that sex is distasteful and meaningless without the gift of love. true love. May the people that idolize meaningless sex know the unwavering, vast, and deep love of God.
May those who glorify and devote their time and energy to alcohol know that drunkenness leads to lonely despair. May those who idolize alcohol be brimming over so much so with the Holy Spirit, passerby‘s think they are “drunk on cheap wine” Acts 2:13.
May those suffocating in the chokehold that addiction has them in, be released from the power of darkness. May they be set free, called Holy and made pure.
May the Idolizers quit making their god’s out of perishable & unfulfilling “things” of this world, and find comfortable satisfaction in eternal life.
May those dying in spirit, be made aware that it is you, Dad, that creates beauty out of ashes. For the physical things of this world are here today and gone tomorrow. May every one who suffers “Fix their eyes not on what is seen, but in what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:3.
Tonight may my brothers and sisters go out like Paul sending his final greetings, to the people of the church of Corinth. “brothers and sisters, Rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind. Live in peace. And the God of love & peace will be with you.” 2 Corinthians 13:11. May your chosen people, my family, “Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf” Isaiah 43:8. May their strength & endurance be refreshed and renewed throughout the night. May worship tonight be their warfare. May their hope never run dry. Love saturating each of their hearts. May the love that drenches the spirits of my brothers and sisters be patient with the skeletons that sit in bars & reek of decay and death. Brothers and sisters, “kind words are like honey. sweet the soul and healing the the bones” Proverbs 16:24. Bring life to dead situations. The power of the Holy spirit resides in you.
Love, be authentic. Pour out of the heart of Jesus and into the hearts of His people. Overflowing over the brim of their cups. Pouring out onto every single person they simply engage with. “Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. It never dishonors others, it’s not self seeking, or easily angered. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with truth” 1 Corinthians 13:48. The love that abounds my brothers and sisters, may it be slow to anger and patient in affliction. By this, you will replicate the love of Jesus in tangible ways.
Dad, I’m thankful we have the opportunity to set the captives free. All of the glory to you, and absolutely none of it do we want.
My prayer ends with urgency – God – rescue these women. Show them yourself. Give them true reason to believe that freedom is theirs if they want it. Deliver them from darkness. Immerse them in your light. May they know they aren’t worthless – that you gave everything for them. May they know they are undoubtedly worth it all. Unquestionably, indisputably, undeniably worth absolutely everything. God – there is no chain that Love can’t break. I believe that now and forever. May the chains of shame, guilt, unworthiness, inferiority, desperation and hopelessness fall in the name of Jesus.
In conversation tonight, may woman be reminded of who she is, “more precious than the finest jewels” Proverbs 31:10. Make it known to her that the Kingdom of God welcomes and honors her. “clothing her in fine linen and purple” Proverbs 31:22
Dad, she has to know that she is NOT alone, and that you have not forgotten or forsaken her. But that you’re “close to the broken-hearted and save those who are crushed in spirit” Psalm 34:18. May she KNOW and BELIEVE that you are a limitless God – never running dry of grace, love, mercy, or comfort. But that these things are eternal and abounding forever. May she know that these very attributes are woven into the creator you are. Jesus, you are good.
Thank you for being my Dad.
For creating each and every person in the family i’m apart of. Thank you that we all so strangely yet intricately ended up right here in Angeles City. Right now, in 2018. Together.
Thank you that you love me and that you’ve pulled me out of darkness. utter darkness. Clothing me in white, and calling me holy.
I pray that the people of Angeles City, both man and woman, also experience the grace and mercy you so graciously extend to your people, in such new ways, that leave them on their faces, crying out to you.
I love you.
All of these things in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Dasia
