(Note: if you're non-religious the things I say here may not mean much to you. But please be kind about it!)
As a Christian, I believe prayer is the most important thing any of us can do ever. It is in prayer we find peace, though the world rage around us. It is in prayer we find direction when there are 100 voices telling us what to do. And it is in prayer that we find a Loving Parent who listens, who loves, and who acts accordingly. I believe that the work of abolition is ultimately God's. We are called to contribute where we can, but as Jesus says, "Ask the Lord of the field to send workers into the field..." We cannot do any of this on our own strength. We need to ask God to go before us, to change minds, open hearts, break the locks off doors and the chains off feet. We petition God and He prepares the way. If you are religious and are interested in abolition work but are not praying about it...then how interested are you in it, really? Do you believe God is bigger? If you believe this, then you will be praying about the issue of human trafficking. Prayer needs to be part of our process from beginning to end - from the time we first start thinking about human trafficking to the moment we're sitting across from a child who's just described the first time he or she was gang-raped. Prayer prepares our hearts to handle the heaviness we're going to face as we learn more about what really goes on in trafficking circles. Prayer sustains us when we're in the thick of it. And prayer restores us when we've reached our own beds again at night, weary beyond words from the battle we've just fought. Pray, pray, pray. Prayer is our doorway to peace.
If you haven't had much experience praying, here are a few good books on the subject:
Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer
Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart
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