Daily Devotional

We are are now beginning our 40 Days for Life campaign as we partner with Right to Life. We have many volunteers from our Campus Bible family volunteering to pray on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood and more praying at home. It is always so encouraging to hear their responses and stories.

A few years ago Pastor Kenton shared a story of a man he met there named John who, a couple years before, was in his office looking on his computer for a movie for his family to watch. He came across a trailer of the movie Unplanned and when he saw it was about abortion he fell to the floor weeping, because he had never dealt with an abortion in his past. He accepted Jesus right then and there and the Lord has called him to pray on the sidewalk in front of Planned Parenthood every week since then.

Unfortunately, many of the encounters with individuals going into the Planned Parenthood building are not success stories. One year that I was there, one of the sidewalk advocates, George, attempted to strike up a conversation with a woman and her daughter wanting to let them know the other options that were available instead of an abortion. The mother replied, "You don't know us, you don't know our struggles." She's right, we don't.

But it reminds me of a note one of our Elders sent in...He said, " I find myself aching for those who are making the decision to end a little baby's life. How could things be so wrong in their life that abortion could seem so right? My heart goes out to them, wishing and hoping they would see how their problems won't be solved with an abortion. That there are other options. More importantly, that there is God, who knows all about their hurts, fears and pain. Who is wanting, willing and more than able to help and heal every aspect of their circumstance." He went on to express the magnitude of God's power that we have in prayer.

My time on the sidewalk has metamorphisized. The first year I prayed at home, the second year I experienced how my physical presence could make a difference in someone's decision to change their mind. Another year God impressed on my heart the words of 2 Corinthians 10:4. "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds." Those words, on the contrary, define how very different the power of prayer is in comparison to any worldly way we can fight spiritual battles. Praying is the most powerful thing we can ever do! And we will never know other things that God accomplishes and may accomplish in the future through our prayers until we enter heaven.

Father, we pray that the power of your Spirit would be unleashed against the stronghold of abortion. We pray for these babies and ask that you would provide everything they need for life and for godliness. We pray for the women and men that have continued to go through with abortions. Lord help them to know your forgiveness and salvation that heals all wounds. Bless them with the unshakeable, powerful name of Jesus, Amen

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