Dear Deacon, It's everyone's question during 40 Days for Life:
"How do I know my prayers are making a difference?" Trust me. They ARE! Know that your prayers -- all of them, collectively
-- are being heard and answered. Mother Teresa said we are not called to be successful;
we are called to be faithful. Here are a few examples
of prayerful faithfulness bearing fruit.
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HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
------------------------------------------------------- The 40 Days for Life vigil in Halifax is in front of a
large hospital. "Our witness is simply our prayerful
presence on the public sidewalk to the hundreds of
people who walk past on their way to work or to school,"
said Julie in Halifax. Just recently, Julie learned about something that took
place during last fall's campaign. A vigil participant's son was at the nearby university
when a friend of his came into class -- very upset. She
had just found out that she was pregnant. She also told
her friend that she was very angry with the people
praying for an end to abortion outside the hospital. The young man quietly said, "My dad is one of those
people praying." "I don't know whether this young woman was considering
an abortion," Julie said. "What we do know is that she
carried her baby to term and has kept her child. My
sense is that this young man's simple witness touched
this girl's heart. And those she had perceived as her
enemy -- those 'zealous Christians praying in public'
-- suddenly had a human face." We never know where our prayers are reaching, she said,
"but I feel sure that last year at this time, those
prayers affected this girl and helped her to make a
decision for life." To see pictures of the Halifax vigil, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2310
FORT MYERS, FLORIDA
------------------------------------------------------- One Fort Myers church put together a video for its web
site to encourage members of the parish to participate
in the community's first 40 Days for Life campaign --
especially on the days this church has pledged to
cover the peaceful prayer vigil at the abortion center. It's worth a look -- an example of what's possible in
terms of getting more people to get out to the abortion
facilities and pray. It shows what happens at the vigil
-- and what Christ can do when two or more are gathered
in His name. To watch the video, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2310
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LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA
------------------------------------------------------- Can there be too much of a good thing? In the case of a
40 Days for Life event in Lawrenceville -- maybe so! Some young people were holding a sign along the sidewalk
with the message, "Honk if your mom chose life." Once they displayed that sign, the event turned into a
virtual festival of honking horns. "We got so many honks of support it was sometimes hard
to hear our guest speaker's talk," said Kateri in
Lawrenceville. "But he was laughing about it afterwards,
because he was the one who urged the kids to hold that
particular sign." To see a photo of the young people and their very
effective sign, please go to: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2310
Here's today's devotional from Day Gardner, president
of the National Black Pro-life Union...
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DAY 9 INTENTION
----------------------------------------------------- May we grow in joy, knowing we serve a living God.
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SCRIPTURE
----------------------------------------------------- And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten
of the Father, full of grace and truth. -- John 1:14
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REFLECTION by Day Gardner
----------------------------------------------------- The Word of God came to us in human form in Jesus
Christ. Every time I contemplate this fact I get
chills! And I think it is something that we, as
Christians, tend to gloss over. I can only imagine
how the first disciples felt when they were looking
into the eyes of the one and only Almighty God who
created them. The first disciples developed a close relationship
with Him as they daily walked and talked with Him.
They ate with Him, prayed with Him and rested when He
rested. As they listened to the Word of God, who was
and is Jesus....they believed and "beheld His glory." Today, this is something we can still do because we
serve a living God. Remember, Jesus died on the cross
but rose from the dead in victory! Jesus is every bit
as real and alive for all of us as He was to the
first disciples. He wants us to develop a close
relationship with Him in the very same way. Jesus
wants us to know Him personally. He wants us to walk
with Him and talk with Him on a daily basis.
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PRAYER
----------------------------------------------------- Dear Heavenly Father, I thank you for your love and
saving grace in Christ Jesus. Help us to realize
every day the great blessing we have in our Savior. I pray that we will rise every morning with
excitement and zeal, looking forward to walking
another day in your footsteps fully knowing that you
continue to dwell among us. Amen.
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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
----------------------------------------------------- To download today's devotional as a formatted,
printable PDF to share with friends: http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2011day09print.pdf
----------------------------------------------------- For Life, Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life PS: Any fresh stories from 40 Days for Life in
your town? Please share it by leaving a
comment at today's blog posting: http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2310 40 Days for Life 10908 Courthouse Road
Suite 102229
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