Even before launching for the race, I knew that praying over women caught up in the sex trade would be part of my ministry. In fact, before I left for the race I WAS praying for these women (read my blog about it here). Whether it be directly or indirectly interacting with them, I figured there’d be a high probability we’d be involved some how. It never crossed my mind that people involved in the trade, other than just the women, would end up also being a focus of my prayers.
The very first day of our prayer ministry (see my previous blog about Thai Ministry) I realized that I was harboring some judgement and anger toward men who enter Thailand, and these other SE Asian countries with the sole intent on purchasing a young Asian girl for the evening. I would see an older, western looking man walking next to a much younger, Asian looking girl, and immediately begin judging him and feeling sorry for her.
There is a particularly heartbreaking look in the eyes of these young women, but it’s guarded behind a forced smile. Typically it seems as though they’re trying to put on a happy face, and pretend as though everything is great. However, if you’re able to catch them in a particularly raw moment, right when they think no one is looking, the mask falls away and the intense look of fear is enough to shatter your heart. It’s not something that is easily put into words, but once you’ve seen it, the image is branded in your mind.
What I realized is that each time I saw this, thought about it, or walked near bars where these girls worked (even when closed during daytime hours), I was fuming with hatred, anger, and disgust.
Where there is a victim, there is a predator, right? Where there is a predator, there also is blame, right? I’ve come to find that it’s not quite that simple. When we were learning about what it means to do prayer walks, we were told that it’s more than about praying for a specific person, place, or scenario. It’s also about praying in place of people. Many people in this region haven’t come to know Christ, therefore don’t know to pray to Him. During our walks, it was my responsibility to pray for them as I would for myself in their situation.
There are a few passages in Luke which speak to this. Luke 6:27-28, specifically.
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
This is one of those passages that the concept is easy to grasp abstractly, but so challenging to apply when you’re facing the scenario head-on. If I’m praying as if I were a woman in the sex trade, am I supposed to pray for men who purchase women? Pray for men who mistreat and hurt women? Pray for men who treat women as objects to be used for pleasure and dispensed of?
Does that change if I replace “women” with “me” in the past 3 questions? What if I replace “women” with “girls” instead?
Honestly, if I’m aiming to live a more Christ-centered life, then the answer to these questions is yes: I should be praying for these men, and also praying that I can remove my judgement of them. They are facing their own battles and strongholds that I know nothing about. This is in no way meant to justify their actions, but to underscore their absolute need for more light to shine in their lives as well.
The very first day of our prayer walks I began praying that God would change my heart to be able to see that these men are his children just as the women are, and he loves them all the same. As much as I wish I could, I would be lying if I said I don’t still feel angry or judgmental, but I can say that my perspective is beginning to shift.
I’m learning to remember this:
We’re all broken, even if our cracks don’t look the same, or can be hidden easier than others.
