Imagine that you are lying on the ground, hands tied behind your back, gag in your mouth. You feel powerless and you gasp for every breath. You cannot yell out for help. You have all of your faculties, but you just feel utterly and completely out of control and there is no one around to help. 

Next, imagine that you are in a small cage. You are being submerged into deep waters. Somehow you are barely able to breath and the cage is descending deeper and deeper. You are alone.

I can't specifically pinpoint the moment I had this 'gag in the mouth' feeling wash over me, but having lived overseas, I experienced it numerous times. It may have been when I was broken into, or when I noticed my belongings disappearing, or when I faced another such injustice, but whatever the moment, the feeling was the same.

Perhaps you are like me and you have felt the sharp edge of injustice, or perhaps you have not. Either way, we must remember that there are many who suffer on a daily basis, many of whom may never be freed from their manacles.

In the 1700s, over deep waters, one sea captain sailed, boat full of slaves. One fated day, he crossed through turbulent seas. He surrendered his troubled heart to God, and the waters were stilled. He - John Newton - later left the trade, entered full time ministry, and wrote the greatest hymn ever penned: Amazing Grace. The lyrics: " through many dangers, toils and snares/ I have already come;/ 'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far/ and Grace will lead me home."

Years after him, in the late 1700s, William Wilberforce fought as a Member of Parliament to abolish slavery. His work resulted in the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and later the absolution of the slave trade in his day. 

Today, sadly, slavery is still a stark reality. There are twenty seven million slaves living today. Many of these slaves cost less than $100. These individuals are sold into manual labour, or many - children included - into the sex industry.

But what if we could help alleviate another's burden. What if we could look down into the depths and pull someone up and out of the floodwaters. What if it were in our power to help just one person. We can. Perhaps someone reading this is this generation's William Wilberforce studying the law in order to bring about change, or perhaps you know a John Newton who needs a touch from heaven. Please stop and consider what you can do to help free one person from spiritual or physical bondage.

Please pray for those who are the victims, and pray for those who are enslaving others. Pray that their lives would be touched and that they too would embark upon a new journey; a journey to set men, women and children free.

Learn more about modern day slavery HERE.