Hello friends!
I hope the month of March was wonderful and much warmer for you than it was for us here in Kansas City! Besides the weather, things out here are going really well...
I love being able to share about what we do at the Children's Equipping Center because it is such a deep passion of mine, but this month I want to share the other passion I have, living a life of prayer. There are many different ways to pray - intercession, meditation, contemplation, etc - but what it really means is "talking with God", or having a conversation with Him. I honestly never really got what prayer was all about until I had to do it 36 hours a week in the internship I did here in 2006. I learned really quick that it is not so glamorous and at the same time not as boring as one might think. It is hard and even tiring to sit in a room and talk with a man you can't see! Yet when He begins to speak to your heart, and He opens up the Word so that you actually understand what it says, your heart becomes exhilarated! Absolutely nothing else on this earth can satisfy or move your heat like when the Creator of the universe tells you the things that are on His heart.
Intercession, or standing in the gap, is one of the major ways that we pray corporately for others here at IHOP-KC. Luke 18:7-8 says "Shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him.. I tell you that He will avenge them speedily." As we ask God to move in the specific global injustices or even personal situations that are going on in our lives, it says that He will avenge or vindicate us. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says "if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." Again, as we humble ourselves by asking God to move, and we pursue righteousness and holiness, God promises to not only hear our cries but to act. This gives me so much hope! Because it means that prayer is the way that God governs His kingdom, and that means that He desires to partner with us to release mercy, justice, and peace throughout the Earth. This is a glorious reality we have been invited into!
So as I've been praying and interceding, one specific topic that we pray for has impacted my heart in a really powerful way - the ending of human trafficking, specifically in Cambodia. Here's a little of what I've learned on my journey...
On Monday nights in the prayer room, during the intercession set from 8-10PM, we pray for the ending of human trafficking, specifically in the country of Cambodia. Human trafficking is the recruitment, transportation, harbouring, or receipt of people for the purpose of exploitation. It is estimated to be a $5 to $9 billion-a-year industry where approximately 600,000 to 820,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year, 80 percent of whom are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors.
Cambodia is one of many nations in Southeast Asia known as a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. Because of the poverty of many of the major cities, and a shaky government system, human trafficking has become one of the leading exports of that nation. Unfortunately that means that the economy depends on this illegal trade, and the government is heavily entrenched in it. Some law enforcement and government officials are believed to have accepted bribes to facilitate the trafficking and sex trade. ECPAT Cambodia reports that as many as one third of the trafficking victims in prostitution are children.
Since crying out and asking God to end human trafficking late last year, we have seen significant breakthroughs in women and children being rescued! And just within this past month, the Cambodian National Assembly unanimously approved a law on anti-human trafficking and sexual exploitation. A huge step forward in ending the promoting and acceptance of this illegal and horrendous trade! The Lord is answering our prayers!
I encourage you to join us in praying for this issue - you can join us live through webstreaming at www.IHOP.org on Monday nights - or visit some of the links below and find out more on how you can pray more effectively, support, or get more involved. I also want to encourage you to pray 30-60 second prayers throughout the day for this issue or different issues or needs that you feel are on your heart. You don't need a 2 hour prayer meeting in order for the Lord to hear you - I have seen so much fruit come from quick prayers I say in the grocery store, my car, or walking around the mall.
I hope you are encouraged and stirred to pray! Thank you again for all your prayers and support! Please email me or write me with any prayer requests you, your family or your church may need, or if you would like to have more information on how to support my ministry here at IHOP-KC. Have a wonderful and blessed month!
Grace and Peace,
Rebecca
Human trafficking Links:
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