Ascent 121 Prayer Journey

I really can’t say enough great things about the Prayer Journey. It is very thoughtfully done. It is a frank picture of the realities of life for the girls, done in a way that does not objectify them or make them objects of pity. It generates compassion but also makes the participant confront some of the preconceived ideas a person may have had about how a girl can become subjected to trafficking. It tells a story of the redemption that is possible when an organization like Ascent 121 partners with each girl in her journey. And, the cherry on top is the privilege of praying over the people and places that have a daily opportunity to make a difference in the lives of kids in this community. I was blessed by the experience.

My whole family recently went on the Prayer Journey to learn more about the Ascent 121 mission and to help pray for girls involved with human trafficking. The journey was structured very well, with a guidebook that provided key information about what happens at each location we visited, as well as prayer suggestions specific to that location. I highly recommend that you take this journey with your family, church group or friends. Please take a few hours to walk in someone else’s shoes. Bring an open mind. Bring your best and sincere prayer. Bring your love….and bring the heart of Jesus.

Each location at which we stop to pray is different; CPS, Lutherwood, Juvenile Detention Center, a local park, a local high school, a local strip club. But the battle is the same, the battle for the hearts and minds of our children and those causing them harm. We know our battle is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces of darkness, and so we pray. We pray to our Heavenly Father ” Who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,” Eph.3:20
We return from our prayer journey with eyes opened, hearts broken; perhaps wondering what next? We can make a difference, God uses us each in different ways, ways as unique as we are as His creation. This prayer journey is a good beginning to finding the path God might have us take in serving Him by serving/rescuing “the least of these”. These precious sparrows continue to fall but God continues to see, to care, to heal and to restore; and He will use any of us who are willing, to accomplish His good purposes. What a privilege. Thank you, Lord, for Ascent 121

Yesterday I did something that I needed to do, but wish I didn’t have to do. I participated in the Ascent 121 Prayer Journey. Small groups of participants (like me) followed a written journey of a young woman who, at a very young age, was trapped in the sex trade. We drove around key locations throughout Indy’s most impoverished areas where we learned about various agencies, businesses, and landmarks that play critical roles (for better and for worse) in the local sex trade. We prayed in our cars at each location.
This experience moved me to tears as we prayed at a park, a school, a strip club, a residential treatment facility, and other significant locales. This terrible thing of girls getting trapped in the sex trade is happening here. I am so grateful for Ascent 121 and the courageous people who are literally helping to save lives.

We return from our prayer journey with eyes opened, hearts broken; perhaps wondering what next? We can make a difference, God uses us each in different ways, ways as unique as we are as His creation. This prayer journey is a good beginning to finding the path God might have us take in serving Him by serving/rescuing “the least of these”. These precious sparrows continue to fall but God continues to see, to care, to heal and to restore; and He will use any of us who are willing, to accomplish His good purposes. What a privilege. Thank you, Lord, for Ascent 121.

This experience moved me to tears as we prayed at a park, a school, a strip club, a residential treatment facility, and other significant locales. This terrible thing of girls getting trapped in the sex trade is happening here. I am so grateful for Ascent 121 and the courageous people who are literally helping to save lives.