Devotional for Day 9, March 13, 2014
Carmen Pate, Alliance Ministries
Intention: Pray that the post-abortive woman would be repentant, accept for- giveness, be healed and restored, and bring glory to God with her new life.
Scripture: I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity have not hidden. said, will confess my transgressions to the ord,’ and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. —Psalm 32:5
Reflection: Because abortion is legal in America, many have ustified their choice. “f it’s legal, it can’t be wrong, right” We now have an entire generation of men and women who have never known abor- tion to be illegal; a generation of people who have never been broken over their sin of abortion.
As a result, the consequences of unconfessed sin weigh on their souls, yet they have never connected the dots as to why their hearts are heavy. No wonder we have millions of women who are struggling with depression, addictions, eating disorders and more.
Post abortion syndrome is very real but recovery begins when the individual agrees with God as David confessed in Psalm 51:3-, , “Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight that You may be found
just when You speak, and blameless when you Judge. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, the God of my salvation.”
Brokenness is the key to accessing God’s glorious mercy and healing. Christ came to heal the broken hearted and He is waiting with open arms to take the post-abortive woman on a glo- rious journey of healing and restoration if she will only run to Him.
God will not waste any sin we lay at His feet. Imagine millions of healed and restored post-abortive women like my- self singing aloud of His righteousness and giving testimony of His love and forgiveness. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
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.
Even in a vocal, pro-abortion cultural climate, a 40 Days for Life campaign can thrive. But it takes sacrifice from the participants. This is especially true in places where volunteers endure persecution almost every day.
This week, Steve Karlen – the North American outreach director for 40 Days for Life – visited the three campaigns in Oregon. There he witnessed the faith and courage of those who aren’t afraid to be voices for the unborn … no matter what obstacles they face.
Here is Steve’s report.
Salem, Oregon
It’s a very prayerful, very enthusiastic group in Salem.
There are two volunteers, Tammi and Lori, who take 12-hour prayer shifts at the vigil. Twelve hours! I asked them about their extraordinary sacrifices, but they seemed just too humble to offer many details.
The volunteers in Salem told me about unusual happenings they witnessed at Planned Parenthood.
They saw an older man bring a pre-teen girl in for an appointment. After a while, they left. But later that day, the same man arrived – with another pre-teen girl. While it appeared rather suspicious, the police told the prayer team there was nothing for them to do.
Beaverton, Oregon
We had a great time of offering encouragement to the volunteers in Beaverton. Some of the vigil participants here are saddened at times because they live in a pro-abortion community.
It didn’t take long for me to understand what they were talking about. Some teenagers even walked by and heckled us and praised the devil.
I reminded the Beaverton team that Jesus didn’t start out with big numbers … and that our persistence in the face of long odds is a prayer itself.
The Planned Parenthood center in Beaverton offered a sure sign that the campaign is making a difference. They’re doing a “pledge-a-picketer” campaign. That’s where they ask their supporters to donate money for everyone who comes to pray on the sidewalk. They had a less-than-impressive $37 per prayer volunteer committed.
Eugene, Oregon
I arrived to meet a very upbeat crowd in Eugene, where they’d set up a tent with signs, balloons and a sign-up area in the parking lot across from a huge Planned Parenthood mega-center.
Lynda, the local leader arrived with her pastor. Pastor Steve opened our time of prayer. We were joined by members of Marist High School’s pro-life group.
It was really an exciting visit to Oregon!
Thanks again to Steve Karlen for today’s report.