Praying for life

There was a conference on in Toronto recently, that I would have loved to attend, but I had to work. Occasionally I did manage to tune in to the live feed, however, and once when I did so I came in on the middle of something. The speaker simply said, “Ask God what he wants you to care about.” I had no idea what had just transpired, but figured it was a reasonable question to ask the Lord anyway, so I did. I received an immediate response. “Abortion.”

I cannot say that I was happy to receive this response. It was not that this was news to me, because obviously God’s heart was breaking over the murder of so many babies. My problem was simply that this was too big – or so I initially thought. But I was looking at the bigness of the problem, and not at the greatness of our God!

Consequently I am now committed to praying for at least five minutes every day about the problem of abortion. I recognise that five minutes is not very long, but it makes it doable. When I was much younger, I took violin lessons, and my teacher informed my parents that having me do short amounts of practice every day was much better than doing one long practice the day before the lesson! And because I want to be consistent in my intercessions against abortions, I have set myself a reasonable goal.

The next question is how do I pray? Not that I have had a problem with this, but when I shared with some friends that is exactly what I was asked. The thought was “Please God stop abortions.” And then what? Hence, I will now give some hints on how to pray for this topic, since I believe it is something very much on God’s heart, and the more of us praying the more God is able to move.

Firstly, I pray for any women who have found that they are pregnant, and this is bad news for them. I pray that they would be able to find those who will support them, be that a friend, a parent, or perhaps some support group. I pray that they would know who to share with, and as they do so they would gather supporters. Sometimes I ask the Lord for a name, and sometimes I just pray generally.

Secondly, I pray for the doctors and nurses who perform the abortions. I pray that the Lord would open their eyes to the truth and convict them of the wrongness of their actions. I pray for wisdom for the medical personnel, that they also would be able to find others to direct them into righteous choices. I pray that they would meet people who would be willing to both tell them the truth, and yet still love them. God cares about these people too and wants them to come to a knowledge of the truth.

And lastly, I pray for those who make changes to the laws surrounding abortion. I pray for those who are pro-life, that they would have the courage of their convictions, and take a stand whenever they can. I pray for those who have the greater powers in parliament, and for us in Canada that would be the Prime Minister and the leader of the opposition. I pray that God will speak to them, bring conviction, bring awareness of the truth. I pray for freedom for all politicians to make their own decisions, and to listen to the voices of their constituents, rather than simply following the party line. And I pray for courage for politicians to take a stand even though they consider it may ruin their chances for re-election.

Included in the last thought, I will often also pray for those people who are not elected officials but are speaking up for the lives of the unborn. I pray for open doors for these men and women, and for wisdom of what to say and to whom. And lastly, I pray for the education of our children, that they would understand the truth about abortions.

It is easy to find out more about abortion on the internet. If you choose to do some research, I encourage you to read both sides of the story. And in all of this it is so important to be gentle. Recognise that those who have already had an abortion need to be loved and not condemned. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction, not ours.