40 Days for Life is a proclaimed fast, rather than a personal fast. “A proclaimed fast is for the purpose of bringing believers into a place of hearing from God. The main reason a proclaimed fast brings results is that it causes people’s minds to go in one direction - toward God. Once their attention is focused on Him, His presence is manifested (2 Chron 20:3-5). A proclaimed fast is valuable and effective because it causes unity and singleness of purpose”.
Did you catch that?
Focusing our attention on God causes us to unite with others of the same heart and mind, the same singleness of purpose. Focus on one leads to accord with all.
Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God the Lord is one! We are to love the Lord alone with all our heart and love our neighbor as ourselves.
When we fast, we are living the Golden Rule sincerely. We are having a singleness of purpose with our brothers and sisters that leads us to deeper relationship with God. Our deeper relationship with God leads us to unity with our siblings in Christ. Fancy that!
Perhaps the greatest value of our 40days campaign is that it draws together all people of goodwill towards this 'singleness of purpose' -- namely, the end to willfull violation of human dignity and the destruction of innocent human life. Where abortion breeds violence, self-loathing, sorrow, and pain to its victims (mother, child, family), prayer with fasting fosters peace, dignity, joy, and jubilation.
When I stand at the corner of 320 E. Fulton, my stomach empty and twisting in knots, I feel such peace in surrendering this place to Jesus, who knows the suffering taking place in the mother and in her womb. I feel almost elated in prayer knowing that God sends holy angels to comfort the afflicted children. I know that those who promote the lie of emancipation are really choosing fear and despair over hope and trust. Abortion, like all sin, does not bring freedom. Rather, it places limits on what is possible. It narrows, confines, imprisons, and corrodes.
Let's revisit that quote above: Once their attention is focused on Him, His presence is manifested.
We stand at the corner of 320 E. Fulton to proclaim as the Body of Christ, the People of Israel, that God is here. Not in some fairy-tale way, but because you and I, dear reader, have brough our hearts, fully cognizant, fully attuned to the Word, fully in prayer, to stand witness on behalf of those whose lives end with no recognition of their dignity or worth. Our standing, silently, vigilantly, is an act of worship of the One who drew us there in the first place.
When we face the nondescript office windows, we are focusing in one direction and one direction only: the gate of heaven through which we pray the Lord will receive us one fine day. We focus, we plant our feet on that sidewalk, and we will move mountains, dear reader. We will surely move mountains.
Plus, we'll meet some wonderful friends of one accord, and that is a beautiful thing.
