Justice in the Streets

My first week here in Brazil has already stretched and grown me more than I imagined. I have encountered God’s heart for justice and have been exposed to the red light district area in the city.

There are about ten other people who came to be here from all over the world. My roommates are from South Africa, Finland, Holland, Brazil, and USA. I counted 10 different nations among the students and staff here.

This week our lectures included a basic overview of what human trafficking is, how to do research (I will be researching Thailand), how justice must be fuelled by intimacy with Jesus, and God’s heart for justice. The staff of the seminar spoke, as well as the base leader and a missionary from Iris Ministries.

Each Wednesday I will be going to the Iris Ministry house of prayer, located in a slum in the center of the city, for worship and intercession. Each Friday we will also be partnering with them to reach those on the streets. Last night we prayer walked through the streets and saw many girls selling their bodies. On these nights we are going to be supporting the work Iris is doing. They have been building relationships with the girls and will be there long term to pour into them. Our team is going to cover the Iris team in prayer as they go speak with the women. Since my team is only here short term (and many of us can’t speak Portuguese) we will not be directly speaking with the girls.

God is rooting me again in the place of intercession. Prayer is the greater work. Justice work needs to start with prayer. Prayer needs to carry it through to the end. God is the only one who can truly establish justice because He is Justice. We need to call upon Him to bring deliverance as He works through us to be His hands and feet in response. Intercession must be the foundation of justice work. Through intercession I will discover more of Him and who He is and hear His voice as I get closer to Him. I stand in the gap so Jesus can receive His inheritance. He is worthy to receive the reward of His suffering.

Real justice aims at the will of God and not a humanitarian cause; it promotes the Kingdom of God. “Passion for justice” is synonymous with “passion to see the will of God done on earth.” The justice of God embraces, in its essence, mercy and compassion. Justice is founded in love and strengthened in mercy and compassion.

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.” – 2 Corinthians 10:3-4