“The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective” James 5:16b
This is a scripture I’ve known for a while now, but that day I saw it come to life. Our team headed out to Pat Pong and split in groups; some with kids, some doing prayer walks, some with one leader, and some with another leader. I was with CRock and we were trying to find a friend she made during her last visit. As we were walked up and down one of the streets in Pat Pong and I prayed that the Lord would shine His light in the midst of this darkness and reveal His sovereignty to His people, as well as reveal why He had me there tonight, in this place, on this street.
CRock and I went inside a men’s bar while the others waited outside for us. It was meant to be a quick entry and exit; ask about her friend and continue on. One of the women was nice enough to let CRock use her phone to contact the friend. While CRock handled that phone call I observed my surroundings.
No more than 12 inches in front of me, smack right in my face was an older gentleman, at least 70….old enough to be my grandfather and stuck in his arms was a young girl probably my age. This man would not keep his hands off of her, or his lips. He kept kissing her and grabbing her. Then he said to her “You come home with me tonight, I get cab, you come, we play”.
This was my first witness of the exchanging of a sex offer. I immediately went to the Lord in a sorrowful prayer, a protective prayer for my sister, and a plea for His saving grace. It was almost as if I was shouting in my head…I so desperately wanted to scream out loud and intervene. I wanted to tell her not to go with this man, that she deserved better, that she was worth more than sex, and that Jesus loves her.
I know that this woman is intentional with why she is there, just the same as that man. She needs the money and from what I have learned here the woman are desperate to be taken home; not for the sex or the shame but because the poverty is truly that bad, the need for money to survive is truly that bad. I just prayed in faith that the Lord would remove this man and that my sister would be protected and that she would NOT go home with him.
When the world stopped spinning, or my mind that is I refocused on what was taking place before me…. The man said again “you….come home with me tonight” and the woman said “No, No, not tonight”.
Hallelujah.
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Nothing will fend the darkness except love. God is love and our prayers are shaking up the darkness. Jesus wins.
*Above photo by Kristen, taken of a different older man and young woman.*
