Pray that we will have faith to realize that even now our Lord can bring an end to abortion.
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SCRIPTURE
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On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home. "Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask."
-- John 11:17-22
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REFLECTION by Fr. Frank Pavone, Priests for Life
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Martha was right. Jesus is Lord of life and death.
She knew that, which is why she was able to make this statement, yet at the same time she had to wrestle with the fact that Lazarus died anyway.
Jesus indeed is Lord over life and death, but here the power of death was still displayed right in front of her.
Yet in this clash between the conviction of faith and the evidence of human experience, Martha allowed hope to shine through. "Even now, God will give you whatever you ask."
Even now. Those words show the power of hope, born of faith. Even now, when death has already done its work, life can be victorious.
Even now, when the last word seems to have been spoken, we can hope that a word will be spoken again to restore life.
Even now, when Lazarus has already been laid in the tomb and it seems impossible to do anything about it, things can change. And things did change. The Lord raised Lazarus from the dead.
We live in a society where many believe the abortion issue has been settled, and its practice so deeply ingrained in our policies and attitudes that it is unrealistic to think we can stop it.
Yet we are the people who say to Jesus, "Even now..."
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PRAYER
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Lord Jesus, even now, you are master of life and death. I come before you as Martha did after Lazarus has died. I come before you after countless brothers and sisters of mine have died from abortion.
And I pray to you: even now, you can stop the forces of death. Even now, you can bring us into a culture of life. Come, Lord Jesus. Speak your word yet again, and free our nation from the shackles of death. Amen.
Pray that we will not become defeated by the enemy's attacks but rather call on the name of the Lord who is on our side and our help in time of trouble.
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SCRIPTURE
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What if the Lord had not been on our side when people attacked us? They would have swallowed us alive in their burning anger.
Praise the Lord, who did not let their teeth tear us apart! Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
-- Psalm 124:2,3,6,8
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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate, Point of View
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The enemy attacks in many ways, but one of his favorites is to slander us with hopes of tarnishing our reputation and character, and ultimately to defeat our good work for the Lord.
It is interesting to note however that it is usually not the slander that causes harm to our testimony, but our response to the slander.
Proverbs 24:10 says, "If you faint in the day of adversity your strength is small."
If we are applying God's truths to our lives moment by moment, we are not swayed by the lies of the enemy and we will be strong. Standing on the front lines, armed with God's truth, places you in the battlefield for the mind.
As you are prepared to present words of love, for the sake of the unborn and for the distraught and confused women and men who are entering the abortion facilities, know that the enemy has prepared his forces to attack your mind.
Unkind words from a protester, or vicious lies in the local paper about who you are and what your mission is, can indeed be hurtful.
But rather than give in to defeat, that is the time to shine for the Lord, standing firm, as you call on Him to defeat the enemy.
Remember the words of Romans 8:31,"If God is for us, who can be against us?"Let's stand strong for those who need us most.
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PRAYER
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Dear Lord, help us to ignore the verbal attacks of the enemy and instead turn to You, our refuge and strength.
Help us to find shelter in the blessed promises and provisions of Your Word.
Thank you that no enemy can defeat us, and we praise You knowing that nothing can separate us from Your love. In the name of Jesus, we come to You, Amen.