Dear Deacon, On the eve of the largest 40 Days for Life campaign
ever, I cannot wait to see what God has in store over
these next 40 days! After speaking at the 40 Days for Life kickoff event
in Germantown, Maryland on Sunday night, I will be
heading out to meet our national director, David Bereit,
in Montana for a kickoff event there later this week. The excitement has NEVER been higher going into a
campaign! This fall's campaign is BIG. Let's just look at the
numbers: * 301 locations taking part from September 28
to November 6
* hundreds and hundreds of church congregations
joining the campaign
* 48 NEW locations including Argentina, Puerto
Rico and Germany
* tens of thousands of people who will take part ...
and maybe more! While those numbers are exciting, I really want to focus
on a small number -- ONE ... ... and the one is ... YOU! 40 Days for Life makes a deep impression on each person
who takes part in the prayer, fasting and vigil. That message comes through loud and clear in an article
Jennifer Fulwiler wrote recently for the National
Catholic Register online. In her story, "What I Learned from Praying in Front of
an Abortion Clinic," she wrote, "it ended up being a
powerful, eye-opening experience." Among other things, Jennifer noted that spiritual
warfare is real. "But I've rarely experienced it as
intensely as when I've been at a prayer vigil in front
of an abortion clinic. "It's not just the intense reactions we get or the
knowledge of the terrible things that go on just a few
yards away, but there's an eerie, unmistakable feeling
in the air. You get the sense that you’re truly on the
front lines of the war between good and evil." That's a sobering thought. But it's one to keep in mind
today as we prepare ourselves for what lies ahead. I know I often go back to those wonderful numbers --
4,313 lives saved from abortion, 53 clinic workers who’ve
left the abortion industry, and 16 abortion centers that
have gone out of business after 40 Days for Life's
peaceful prayer vigils were held in the public
right-of-way outside their doors. But the important thing is what those numbers represent.
They represent God's love and mercy -- and the simple
fact that PRAYER WORKS. Or as Jennifer put it in her article, "There is hardly
a better example of the power of prayer than the 40 Days
for Life campaign." She added, "I count the time I've spent as a 40 Days
for Life prayer warrior as one of the most important
things I've done recently -- maybe ever." You may read Jennifer Fulwiler’s entire article at:
http://tinyurl.com/446x7ku These next 40 days will be intense. So please take
some time today to listen for God's still, small voice
-- as we prepare to seek and follow His will in the
days ahead. This is my personal invitation for you to get involved.
Here's the link to all 301 locations -- please find the
one nearest you and learn how you can help: http://40daysforlife.com/location.cfm We begin our series of daily devotionals today with
this offering from Carmen Pate, a member of the
40 Days for Life board of directors.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRE-KICKOFF INTENTION
----------------------------------------------------- For God's blessing upon all participating in the
coming 40 Days for Life campaign. -----------------------------------------------------
SCRIPTURE
----------------------------------------------------- "If My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
forgive their sin and heal their land." -- 2 Chronicles 7:14
-----------------------------------------------------
REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, 40 Days for Life
----------------------------------------------------- Not unlike God's chosen people of Israel, we must
humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from
our wicked ways, if we expect God to hear from
heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land. The need
for repentance has not been greater since the Supreme
Court decision of Roe vs. Wade in 1973. The number one cause of death in America is the
needless sacrifice of our children at the altar of
convenience called abortion. Conservative estimates
put the number of deaths at nearly 52 million. And lest we think this is an issue outside the church
walls, 43 percent of women obtaining abortions
identify themselves as Protestant, and 27 percent
identify themselves as Catholic. One in four women
has at least one abortion by the age of 45 -- both
non-Christian and Christian alike. Where was the
voice of Truth -- the church? Mary Comm of In Our Midst Ministries, Inc. sums up
the issue best as she writes, "We (the church) have
been an unintentional accomplice to the millions of
lives lost and to the multiplied millions of lives
devastated by abortion. We didn't want them to abort.
We didn't mean for them to abort. But, because of our
lack of knowledge, because of our fear, we have
continued to stand by and do nothing. We, God's hands
and feet in this dark and hurting world, have been
unintentional, unknowledgeable accomplice, but an
accomplice nonetheless." May today mark the beginning of change within the
church, as God's people, in unity, seek His
forgiveness.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRAYER
----------------------------------------------------- Heavenly Father, we have turned our backs on you and
your principles in your Word. We have allowed man to
usurp Your role as God over life and the number of
our days. But we come to you in brokenness and
repentance over our sin. We cry out for Your mercy and ask you to remove the
scourge of abortion from our land. Use us as your vessels, Lord, to bring the light of
Your Truth to our nation once again. Because of
Christ we pray, Amen.
-----------------------------------------------------
PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
----------------------------------------------------- To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2011day00print.pdf
----------------------------------------------------- Deacon, let's pray, fast, and shape history
together starting tomorrow! For Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life 40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
Fredericksburg, VA
22408
US
