International

Sean Carney's reflection from today's devotional reminds us that people all over the world are standing in solidarity with us when we stand and pray at 320 Fulton. He includes messages of solidarity from people praying in Germany, Argentina, and Vancouver.

I especially liked the imagery in today's prayer:


O God, from generation to generation, you have called
your people to be the very aroma of life amidst a
culture of death. Now it is our turn. Prepare me.
Send me. Use me. I am eager to do my part. Stir your
people everywhere to take up this great work.

Isn't that lovely? we are called to be the aroma of life in a culture of death.

That aroma has spread around the world. It doesn't need to be pungent; it simply needs to be wafting into people's consciousness. Let the Holy Spirit do the work, and your silent prayer on a cold, lonely sidewalk will reverberate around the globe!

Only 10 more days

Dear Faithful 40 DFL Pray-ers,

We are now just 10 days away from the culmination of our 40 Day
Campaign of Prayer, Fasting and Vigil on Sunday, November 6.

This fall our Grand Rapids campaign has been filled with miracles -
mothers and babies saved from the tragedy of abortion and clinics
unexpected closed.  All attest to the power of God at work in our
midst in response to our pleas - praise Him!

Please join us for the Victory Rally on Sunday, November 6 - the 40th
Day!

This is always a very moving event as participants are able to share
their experiences from the sidewalk, so please mark you calendars:

Where:   Life International, 72 Ransom St., Grand Rapids.
When:    Sunday, November 6, 2 pm
What:     Open mike sharing, Prayer, Music and Refreshments

We will walk the 3 blocks to 320 Fulton for a closing prayer in front
of the clinic, and then return to Life International for refreshments.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

God bless you for your commitment to life!

Lisa Peters
Adminstrative Coordinator
Fall 2011 Grand Rapids Campaign

God with us

Very briefly, for 15 minutes, I got to stand on the sidewalk and pray. I'm in town for the weekend, and I had a moment to stop by and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy, asking God to pour out His Mercy upon 320 Fulton.

I've been asked, "Where do you find God?" And while most times I experience God in church, I also find God at 320 Fulton. I know that one day it will just be an ordinary building again. I have only rarely felt the presence of God in a non-sacramental setting, and standing on the sidewalk is one of those settings.

I am so blessed that I got to stand there and pray one last time before the 40 days conclude next weekend. I hope all of you go to LifeInternational for the victory celebration, and know that I am with you in the solidarity of the Holy Spirit, as we are all one body in Christ, poised to witness God's victory over the sin of abortion just like we have witnessed victory over the sin in our own hearts.

Peace be with you!

The Abortionist's Wife

A vigil participant was noticing that nearly all the
cars in the abortion center parking lot were parked in
the staff area -- very few were in the area reserved
for those with appointments. And that was good.

The volunteer was soon deep in prayer when the
abortionist drove up -- with his wife and their
teenager. He got out of the car and headed toward
the building while the wife and teen drove away.

The abortionist's wife pulled up next to the vigil
participant, rolled down her window and asked, "How
are you doing?" The surprised volunteer answered,
"Good! How about you?"

She responded, "I just wanted to tell you that I so
appreciate what you do and how you are always so nice
and respectful." That simple response turned out to
be the opening line in a very lengthy conversation.

The wife expressed her gratitude for the way the
40 Days for Life vigil is conducted. In another city,
there is a group outside the abortion center that
yells at her husband.

Here, however, he's been told that the vigil
participants are praying for him. "He just can't
understand how you can be so against what he does
and yet so nice to him."

She explained that her husband grew up in a home that
had no use for religion -- the concept is totally
foreign to him. The volunteer promised to pray that he
would be able to grasp -- and eventually embrace --
faith. The teen blurted out, "Please do!"

"I asked the abortionist's wife to pray for me," said
the volunteer, "and she said she would."

The wife said, "I'm really impressed that you believe
in something so strongly and passionately that you’re
willing to be here every week for years in every kind
of weather."

"There is much to meditate upon from this conversation,"
said the 40 Days for Life volunteer. "It confirmed the
constant presence, the peaceful method, the prayerful
attitude. It helped give me a renewed sense of
dedication to continually trying to get people to
sign up so that we can have a constant presence on the
sidewalk. We never know who will see us and when they
will see us.

"God gave me an awesome story in order to ask once
again for you to join us for 40 Days for Life. Please
keep praying for an end to abortion and for ALL those
involved. God is using us to help bring His children
to Him -- ALL of them!"

- as told by David Bereit

Prayers answered

Just thought you should all know....the doctor was NOT in this morning.  No abortions done today, Wed. Oct. 26!!!!! May God be praised.  Mary Verwys was there and she said this almost never happens.

Yours for Life in Christ,
Jane

One more link

about Fasting 2011

How to Stop Abortion

 Claiming Our Victory Over Satan

"Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb." —Psalm 139:13

 SPIRITUAL WARFARE

I have been praying publicly before abortion chambers for over 25 years and have been privileged to see babies saved through our prayers. In these years, I have not had the slightest regret about my public witness for life. I am more convinced than ever of the power and fruitfulness of publicly waged spiritual warfare. Millions of babies have been killed, but millions of babies have been saved. We will eventually bring down our "culture of death," but we have a long way to go. To accelerate our victory in Jesus, we must realize we should not be fighting primarily abortion and abortionists. Rather, our battle is not against human forces, but against the devil (Eph 6:12).
When we know our ultimate enemy, we can choose the appropriate weapons. "The weapons of our warfare are not merely human. They possess God's power for the destruction of strongholds. We demolish sophistries and every proud pretension that raises itself against the knowledge of God; we likewise bring every thought into captivity to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor 10:4-5). These weapons are invisible and are directed against an invisible enemy, Satan. They are wielded by faith (see 2 Cor 6:7).

FAST AND PRAY

To enlist as a soldier in God's army (2 Tm 2:3), we must accept Jesus as Lord and Commander-in-Chief. Then we receive the power of the Holy Spirit and, as a part of His body the Church, are given authority over all evil spirits (Mt 10:1). We exercise this authority by wielding several weapons, especially prayer and fasting. Pope John Paul II has taught: "Jesus Himself has shown us by His own example that prayer and fasting are the first and most effective weapons against the forces of evil (cf. Mt 4:1-11). As He taught His disciples, some demons cannot be driven out except in this way (cf. Mk 9:29). Let us therefore discover anew the humility and the courage to pray and fast so that power from on high will break down the walls of lies and deceit: the walls which conceal from the sight of so many of our brothers and sisters the evil of practices and laws which are hostile to life" (The Gospel of Life, 100).
When we pray and fast in faith, we can move the mountain of Planned Parenthood and the international system of abortion (Mt 17:20). The power of our prayer is much more than we can ever ask or imagine (Eph 3:20). Our fasting sets the captives free (Is 58:6), even babies captive in the womb-tomb of an aborting mother. Our prayer and fasting are like loaves and fish to be multiplied to transform the masses and save babies throughout the world.

DIE TO SELF

The devil will attempt to rob us of the "fire-power" we have through prayer and fasting. He will tempt us to sin by focusing on ourselves. To save a life, someone must usually die to self. We know this from Jesus' crucifixion and death. We must die to ourselves, or babies in the womb will die. We must resist temptation, accept persecution, and make sacrifices. "Continually we carry about in our bodies the dying of Jesus, so that in our bodies the life of Jesus may also be revealed" (2 Cor 4:10). If we die to self, we bear much fruit (Jn 12:24).

LOVE AND FORGIVENESS

Another way the devil tries to sabotage our power in Christ is by taking away our love, for if we refuse to love in God's unconditional way, whatever we do profits us nothing (1 Cor 13:2). To beat the devil and save lives, we must have four loves:

1. We are to love God with our whole heart (Mt 22:37). This is the first commandment and the basis of the Christian life.
2. We must love the babies in the womb.
3. We must love our enemies (Mt 5:44). This includes forgiving those who have had the abortions. They are often more victims than victimizers. Furthermore, we must love and forgive even the most unscrupulous abortionists.
4. We should also love our co-workers, others standing for life and fighting against abortion. The devil tries to get us fighting among ourselves. We all have different callings. Even though we advocate spiritual warfare against the demons of abortion, we must respect those fighting abortion in other ways.

OBEDIENCE

In spiritual warfare, obedience is of utmost importance. Often God call us to wage war publicly, to do our praying and fasting in the open, on the street, in front of the abortion chamber. We must obey His calling and prophesy through public witness in the tradition of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Francis of Assisi, and Mother Teresa. When we obey, Goliath falls; the walls of Jericho come tumbling down, and Satan is quickly crushed under our feet (Rm 16:20).

Fasting tutorial

Campus Crusade for Christ has a Personal Guide to Fasting available on their website.

Here's some good advice:

Fasting is not just denying yourself food. It is exchanging the needs of the physical body for those of the spiritual. Long times of prayer and reading God's Word will be very essential if you are to enter into a more intimate communion with God to maintain your fast to its completion. While fasting, if you dissipate your energy on numerous errands or busy-work to the neglect of spending special time with God, you will starve both physically and spiritually. You will find yourself becoming discouraged and frustrated with your fast instead of being benefited and uplifted and blessed. I don't want that to happen to you.


The more time you spend with God in fellowship, worship, and adoration of Him, and the more you read and meditate upon His Word, the greater your effectiveness will be in prayer and the more meaningful your fast will be. So I encourage you to arrange your schedule accordingly!

David Bereit on Fasting

The scripture verse most often cited in relation to
40 Days for Life offers a classic if/then statement.
IF we humble ourselves and pray, God tells us in 2
Chronicles 7:14, THEN He will hear from heaven and
heal our land.

There is a reward, but there is also a price. If we
focus on the reward, but neglect to pay the price…
well, in the end there is no reward.

God has promised to heal our land, but FIRST we must
humble ourselves and pray.

That is the primary focus of 40 Days for Life –
prayer, coupled with fasting.

Prayer, because with God all things are possible. And
fasting because scripture tells us that some demons
can only be driven out through prayer AND fasting.

Prayer and fasting can be humbling experiences –
especially prayer offered in a public location such
as the sidewalk on a busy street in front of an
abortion facility.

But it’s worth it!

It was worth it for the volunteer who had no car, but
who regularly took public transit to pray at the
abortion facility — a route that required transfers
to four different trains and finally a bus — because
he was called to action on behalf of those who
couldn’t help themselves.

It was worth it to the man who lost his job right
before a 40 Days for Life campaign, and took it as
his duty to stand vigil at the abortion center for 19
hours a day to challenge the evil taking place in his
community.

It was worth it to the campaign director whose family
lost their home to foreclosure during a 40 Days for
Life campaign. However, she kept her commitment to
keep speaking out for the unborn and was able to help
save many lives.

At the center of the call to participate in 40 Days
for Life is a call to sacrifice. It’s hard. But it’s
necessary — and it’s worth it. God has promised
victory… IF we will humble ourselves and pray.
—————————————————–
SCRIPTURE
—————————————————–
“If My people who are called by My name will humble
themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from
their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and
forgive their sin and heal their land.”
– 2 Chronicles 7:14