At the Eleventh Triennial Convention (2021), the voting members adopted a resolution setting the four weeks prior to the annual NFL Super Bowl as a time of prayer to end human trafficking and called on women of this organization engage in prayer. With the 2024 Super Bowl happening on Sunday, February 11, we’re offering daily prayers, one week at a time. They can be prayed individually or in group settings. Use them at circle meetings or other any gathering of people of faith. May they inspire you and others to engage in the difficult work of ending human trafficking.
While the goal of the convention action was to aggregate prayers in the four weeks leading up to this major sporting event, these prayers can (and should) be used throughout the year. Consider ways in which you and your congregational unit can add them into your regular ministry. Check out the many anti-trafficking resources available from Women of the ELCA.
May all of this inspire you and your community to engage in new and different efforts to create awareness of human trafficking, support those who are or have been trafficked, and advocate for the victims.
If you missed earlier prayers, you’ll find them here:
Prayers for the week of February 4
Sunday, February 4
Ever-Living God, we are aware that women and girls are being trafficked all around us. Open our hearts to witness what is going on right in front of our faces. Open our lips to declare your love for all of humanity which includes women and girls who may be trafficked this very night. Open our ears to receive their pleas for help. Guide us to action. Make our feet swift for justice. Stir up our faith to be the hands and feet of freedom for those on the margins of society who may become victims of human trafficking. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Monday, February 5
Faithful God, encourage volunteers to join agencies who are working to assist victims of human trafficking. May the monetary needs be met through sponsors, donors, fundraising, and a variety of other means. May the number of workers increase to meet the needs of the communities they are supporting. May those who have been helped pass on the word to others that there is help available and that society hasn’t given up on them. May the workers and volunteers find rest and rejuvenation for their minds and souls so that they are refreshed to continue to do the difficult work of locating and freeing victims of human trafficking. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Tuesday, February 6
Gracious God, all human life is precious. Age, race, gender, sexual identity, nationality, and religion practiced have no bearing on the value or worth of any individual human life. Humanity is priceless. A person is priceless. A victim of human trafficking is priceless. No one deserves to be trafficked. No one deserves to be misused, abused, or discarded. Help us to see, understand, and believe the intrinsic value held within each human being. Guide us to loving and healthy relationships with one another. Lead us away from apathy and towards action in making sure each person on this planet is safe, fed, housed, and loved. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Wednesday, February 7
Living God, our hearts break for the families of missing and murdered Indigenous women. While we lift up these women in prayer, we also know that our actions are part of the answers to these prayers. Give us minds that act quickly to aid in their rescue and to help bring to justice the person or persons who have caused them harm. Teach us to speak up and speak out when we see something instead of ignoring what is right in front of us. We trust your divine protection to lead investigators to the whereabouts of the missing Indigenous women and to the capture of those who traffic and murder Indigenous women. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Thursday, February 8
Loving God, we are all created in your image including black and brown women. Just like you went after the lost sheep because they were just as important as the 99, so you also seek out the missing and murdered black and brown women to return them to their families. Our prayers cry out for justice. Our prayers cry out for accountability. Our prayers cry out for healing and restoration. Lead us to action and advocacy to end the cycle of violence towards black and brown women. Comfort the families as they wait for answers. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Friday, February 9
Mighty God, we cry out for protection and justice for our missing and murdered transgender siblings. All of God’s children deserve to live with hope, in safety, surrounded by love. Educate us in ways to live out our baptismal calling of loving our neighbors as we love ourselves. We, as the body of Christ, are not complete until we are all accounted for. Missing transgender women especially black, brown, and Indigenous transgender women deserve the same resources for finding them that are employed for anyone that is missing or murdered. We have all been lovingly created by God and transgender women are included in all. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
Saturday, February 10
Merciful God, it is a nearly unbearable daily pain that families of trafficked individuals face waiting for their loved ones to return to them. Hold them close and wrap them in your loving embrace. We ask for the victims to be returned to safety. May the victims and their families receive the support, therapy, and protection that is necessary for healing and restoration. May loved ones find grace, hope, and guidance in the love of the Triune God. Guide our communities, families, and friends in the knowledge of how to protect themselves and others from being trafficked. Destroy all systems of exploitation and slavery. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
These prayers were written by DaMisha McFarland-Pollock. She is pursuing a Master of Divinity degree with a rural ministry concentration at Wartburg Theological Seminary, Dubuque, Iowa.