The Beginning of the End of Abortion -- 40 Days for Life, September 24 -- November 2
Mission
40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion. It draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program:
· Prayer and fasting
· Constant vigil
· Community outreach
The 40-day campaign tracks Biblical history, where God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities … and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ’s resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformative value of His people accepting and meeting a 40-day challenge.
Vision
40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion.
Mission
The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion.
Prayer and Fasting
Want to end abortion? If you do, the first thing you must do is pray. Prayer is at the center of 40 Days for Life. During each campaign, we are calling on people of faith across the nation … and around the world … to fall on their knees before the Lord, asking Him to hear our plea and heal our land. Pray outside an abortion facility. Pray at church. Pray at work. Pray in the car. Pray at home with your family.
Christ told us some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand in hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God’s will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us reach beyond our own limitations with God’s help.
Each day during 40 Days for Life, individuals, churches, families and groups will be asked to join together in prayer for a specific request so the entire Body of Christ can unite around a common focus. These specific prayer requests will seek God’s help for:
· Women who are at risk of having an abortion
· Innocent children who are at risk of perishing
· Men and women who carry the pain of a past abortion experience
· Workers at Planned Parenthood facilities and abortion centers
· Local, regional, and national leaders
· Revival and renewal in our churches
· Repentance and healing throughout our nation
People of faith are also invited to fast throughout 40 Days for Life. Christ said there are demons that can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. A fast is not a Christian diet; it is a powerful means of drawing closer to God by blocking out distractions. Fast from certain foods. Fast from television. Fast from apathy and indifference. Fast from whatever it is that separates you from God.
We believe that when God’s people fast with a broken, repentant and contrite spirit, our heavenly Father will hear from heaven and heal our lives, our churches, our communities, our nation, and our world.
Constant Vigil
The visible, public centerpiece of 40 Days for Life is a focused, 40-day, non-stop, round-the-clock prayer vigil outside a single Planned Parenthood center or other abortion facility in your community.
It is a peaceful and educational presence. Those who are called to stand witness during this 24-hour-a-day presence send a powerful message to the community about the tragic reality of abortion. It also serves as a call to repentance for those who work at the abortion center and those who patronize the facility.
If you do not have an abortion facility or Planned Parenthood office in your town, you can still conduct 40 Days for Life; however, you will need to select a different location which has some strategic significance – perhaps near city hall, a courthouse, or a highly visible intersection.
Community Outreach
During 40 Days for Life, the message is take proactively to every corner of your community. Media outreach is conducted through carefully targeted news stories, talk shows, editorials and opinion pieces so you get the message out to people who would never see the inside of a church.
Church involvement begins by meeting with local pastors, other church leaders, and members of different congregations. The Body of Christ is invited to pray together and participate in 40 Days for Life, uniting in one focused mission that can save lives and make an eternal impact.
A door-to-door petition and education drive reaches out to every household in your town or city. Informational flyers are distributed in neighborhoods to raise awareness about the local crisis of abortion. Citizens are invited to sign a petition of support for the sanctity of human life, and people are given the opportunity to visibly show their support for 40 Days for Life by wearing wristbands, placing signs in their yards, or displaying bumper stickers on their vehicles.
This one activity alone can help a community rapidly identify hundreds, or even thousands, of pro-life supporters during the 40 days. These people can then be encouraged to pray and join local pro-life efforts.
If your community has a college campus, many students can be impacted through an intense 40-day campus outreach. This can consist of flyer raids, public witness, petition drives, table displays, and much more.