It wasn’t until a couple of days before I left for Phoenix
that I realized I was arriving in that city just in time for the Super Bowl.
But it didn’t take more than a few steps off the airplane to notice that I had
unwittingly entered into the craziness of hundreds of thousands of people
descending on Phoenix for a few days of revelry and football fun.
I was there for the National Prayer Committee meetings—and
of course we drew only about 70 people from around the nation for our event! But these are my favorite
meetings of the year because I love being with spiritually mature prayer
leaders who know how to come together in unity (regardless of denominational
backgrounds) and seek God for revival and spiritual awakening.
As the city filled with people oblivious to their desperate
need for God, we realized that the timing and location of our meetings were not
a coincidence. We received reports from local prayer leaders of how the Church
of Phoenix had already been praying for months in preparation for the Super
Bowl, especially regarding the suspected increase in sex trafficking that often
occurs around a major sporting event.
Now, I realize that many people believe this is a myth. I’ve
read the articles. They believe the number of women and children who are
transported to a city in anticipation of an increased call for their services
is way over exaggerated. Maybe. Maybe not. But I do know that the sex
trafficking of any individual is pure evil—and I have no reason to believe that
thousands of men descending upon a city for a sporting event would not be prime
candidates for this dark underworld of abusing women and children.
Call to Action
What I love about prayer leaders is that when evil raises its
ugly head, they are quick to respond! Stop and pray now. Rearrange schedules. Stop and pray again. Pile into cars and
drive down to the Super Bowl stadium to prayerwalk. Pray around the hotels. Pray
for God to work on behalf of those who are being forced into slavery
against their will. Pray for perpetrators to be caught and victims to be set
free. Pray for the love of Jesus Christ to cover all sin.
For prayer leaders, it’s what they live to do—to intercede
on behalf others. I remember praying specifically in my group, as we stood in
near the stadium, that the police would set a trap—a snare—for catching the
perpetrators and rescuing the enslaved. None of us realized at the time that a
national sting operation was underway. Of course, I had no insider
information—just the prompting of the Holy Spirit in how to pray!
Here are some of the results of the prayers of many people and the determination of
government and law enforcement to attack this issue:
- A national coalition
conducted a sting operation through the cooperation of 27 agencies in 15
states, culminating with the Super Bowl.
- According to the Los Angeles Times, nearly 600 “johns”
were arrested and 68 victims were rescued.
- More than 70 percent of
those arrested were caught responding to online advertisements.
- 23 people were arrested on
suspicion of sex trafficking.
I’m encouraged by these direct answers to prayer. We need to
wake up as the Church and intensify our prayers regarding these kinds of
atrocities. As we pray, we support government and law officials in doing their
part to push against the tide of evil.
I pray that the Spirit will always prompt me to open my eyes
to the dark side of this world—even if I’m eating chips, enjoying Super Bowl
commercials, and wondering why in the world they didn’t run the ball!
