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In Psalm 126, we read: "The Lord has done great things
for us, and we are filled with joy." When we go to
pray in front of abortion facilities, we go with joy.

Today we look at the fruit of offering joy in a place
of despair -- and praise God that thus far during this
40 Days for Life campaign, we are aware of at least ...

... 352 babies who have been saved from abortion!

Here are just a few of the great reports of the Lord's
victories.

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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
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40 Days for Life vigil participants watched as a car
pulled up to the abortion center. A woman got out --
while a man and three small children waited in the
parking lot.

A volunteer went to see if the man would speak to her.
He did -- telling her it would just be too difficult
to have a fourth child.

A counselor told him of the help available and how
abortion is not a solution for his wife. She told
him that he had three beautiful gifts from God in
the back seat ... and God was giving them another
beautiful gift -- the baby his wife was carrying.

After a while, the woman came out in tears. There
would be no abortion. She then returned to the
abortion center and got her money back.

"What courage they had," the volunteer said. "What a
wonderful God we serve!"

For a picture of the vigil in Nashville, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2983

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LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS
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A young couple had been parked down the street for
more than half an hour. But all of a sudden, they got
out of the car and made a dash for the abortion center.

One of the prayer volunteers tried to speak to them.
"The girl looked confused -- and the boyfriend was set
on her going in. I called out to her and she turned
and smiled at me." She said to the young woman, "You
do not need to go through this. You should make the
decision. After all you're the one who is pregnant."

They went inside -- and later stormed back out. "She
evidently had second thoughts and came to discuss them
with the boyfriend," the volunteer said. "He took her
back into the clinic. They came out again and the girl
looked happy. The boyfriend drove out recklessly and
screeched all the car tires."

Please pray for this young couple -- and their child.

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FORT WAYNE, INDIANA
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One of the women praying at the 40 Days for Life vigil
in Fort Wayne was able to speak to a woman outside the
abortion center.

"I asked her if she wanted a free ultrasound and she
seemed a little confused," the volunteer said.

She explained that if they went to the pregnancy care
center next door to the abortion center, she could
have the ultrasound right away -- and it would be free.
If she went to the abortion facility, they would only
set up an appointment for another day -- but expect
her to pay $100 right now.

She agreed to go to the pro-life center. After the
woman saw the ultrasound image, she decided to keep
her baby.

"She has three children already and was panicked at
the reality of the fourth child," said the volunteer.
"I can’t help but think about how close those three
children came to never knowing the sibling that was
spared! It's hard to fathom how many people may be
completely unaware of a sibling who was never given
the right to live."

To see a photo of the Fort Wayne vigil, please go to:

http://40daysforlife.com/blog/?p=2983

Day 28 - March 20

Intention:

Pray that those standing in peaceful vigil will extend mercy and grace to others as they remember that Christ did not treat us as our sins deserve.

Scripture:

You have heard it was said, 'you shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.

-- Matthew 5: 43-44

Reflection:

Perhaps it is obvious by now that not everyone thinks this campaign is a great idea! In fact, those on the front lines standing in peaceful vigil are perhaps being cursed and hated for what God has called you to do. Because we are all fallen creatures, our natural response may not be as Christ-like as we would hope it would be.

So, how do we keep our natural response in check, while allowing the Holy Spirit to empower us to love, bless, do good, and pray for those who hate us or would do us harm?

Consider first the Holiness of God. It seems that sin has clouded our ability to think clearly about God's nature. We simply don't have a clue of how outraged God is by our sin, what an insult sin is to His person, or how sin fires the flames of His wrath. Praise God that He didn't leave us in our depravity destined for His divine wrath!

Ephesians 2:4-5 says, "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in sin, made us alive together with Christ; by grace you have been saved."

Because of God's mercy and grace towards us, we who receive Him receive eternal Hope. Those who curse you, hate you, spitefully mistreat you and persecute you need that same Hope. That is the only way we can ever expect them to behave differently. Ask the Holy Spirit to love them -- through you -- so they are drawn to the Hope that is in you, that is Christ Jesus.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, may we reflect your character of grace and kindness to those who hate us and curse us. Guard our hearts and our tongues as we respond in love to words and actions meant to rile us or cause us harm. Let others see the Hope that is Christ in all we say and do. In His precious name we pray, amen.

Carmen Pate
40 Days for Life board of directors