“If you are praying for His kingdom to come, justice is inseparable from that prayer.”

Elizabeth Mabie
Spur Ottawa Correspondent

Every year, local prayer warriors kick off the New Year with “City on our Knees”, a week devoted to praying for the city and its challenges. The focus for “City on our Knees” 2018 (January 14 to 20) was social justice.

Prayer Ottawa has been organizing “City on our Knees” since 2014. For 2018 they teamed up with Citizens for Public Justice (CPJ) and International Justice Mission Canada (IMJC) to send out a profound message about human rights.

“It’s less about our entitlement and more about our shared humanity, our shared need for one another, our shared vulnerability—a recognition that the gifts and privileges we enjoy are to be shared and are not ours to hold on to,” explains Natalie Appleyard, socio-economic policy analyst with CPJ.

Appleyard volunteered with “City on our Knees” in 2017, when a friend connected her with Sarah Jackson, the leadership team captain. Last year, Jackson decided to feature an event about social justice that intertwined with the goals of “City on our Knees” to educate participants on the constant array of issues in Ottawa. It was so successful the leadership team chose to keep the same theme for 2018.

“Our desire, in general, is to inspire people to pray for the city in an informed way; to pray for its people, for their efforts, challenges, protection, and prosperity at the start of each year,” explains Jackson. “To be more accurate, the theme for this year is, ‘Lord, Your Kingdom Come.’ If you are praying for His kingdom’s qualities to come into our city, justice is inseparable from that prayer.”

“Right away we are forced to think about those who are being held captive by the abusive power of someone else.”

As part of the initiative, the team held a one-day conference, hosted Friday, January 19, at Rideauveiw Bible Chapel. Participants heard from Mark Wollenberg, National Director of Church Mobilization for IJMC, before breaking off into workshops discussing human trafficking, poverty, and refugee rights. In the evening, the groups heard from individuals sharing their stories of human trafficking and refugee resettlement. They also discussed the Lord’s Prayer.

“Many of us don’t have to pray, ‘Deliver ME from evil.’ However, the prayer Jesus taught says, ‘Deliver US from evil,’” says Wollenberg. “Right away we are forced to think about those who are being held captive by the abusive power of someone else. It might be a pimp, a trafficker, or a slave owner who literally controls every part of another’s life. There are the ones who need to be delivered from this evil. They need people who are asking our Heavenly Father to release them from the hand of the oppressor. This is what we are called to do.”

“City on our Knees” is meant to guide the city’s believers into uniting as one Church, where everyone works together, prays together, and loves each other. With a strong motive to eradicate the disregard of human rights, the hosts of 2018’s event hope to strengthen Ottawa’s prayer warriors and witness tangible changes.

“I would love to see a Church more united in love for our city and the people in our communities,” says Appleyard. “As we get to know them and love them more we are better able to serve. We’re also better able to understand the issues they are facing and what opportunities exist for us to engage and live out our call to love, not only in word, but in our call to seek justice.”