DAY 8: Our presence matters
The first time I was invited to pray outside of an abortion facility, I didn’t really want to do it. Like me, many people’s initial reaction is to find the most heartfelt and sincere excuse. However, when we overcome that first natural hesitation and just do it, we don’t regret it. And it’s never what we thought it would be like.
When you pray outside an abortion facility at a 40 Days for Life vigil, you may affect women going into the building … the people driving by … the people who work there.
But there’s one other person your prayer experience can affect — YOU!
Here are just a few examples from the sidewalk.
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CHAPEL HILL, NORTH CAROLINA
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“Today I prayed for three hours in front of the Planned Parenthood in Chapel Hill,” a volunteer wrote on the 40 Days for Life blog. “The steady stream of people going in and out, the sometimes packed parking lot, other people walking in from nearby parking lots and streets, was heartbreaking.”
People outside the building generally ignored him, he said — except for two men holding babies. Whenever he looked their way, he could tell they had been looking at them. But they would quickly glance away, trying to avoid making eye contact. Why were they there? What were they thinking?
The volunteer just continued to pray. “I prayed for babies to be saved, for mothers and family members to have a change of heart and find real help elsewhere, for workers to be convicted and quit” — anything to stop what was going on inside.
“I prayed with a small stone cross in my hand, the word ‘hope’ written on it,” he said. “I pray that those considering abortion will find real hope, real help and real life in Christ.”
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SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
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Another volunteer, praying at the 40 Days for Life vigil in Sacramento, was also seeking signs of hope.
“The clinic faces two streets,” she wrote in a 40 Days for Life blog posting. “One is a very busy — Alta Arden Way — with many cars whizzing by in both directions. The other is Wright Street, which is a far more quiet street. Our opportunity to witness is greater on the Wright Street.”
As she and others were praying together, they noticed the abortion center’s sign was in “utter disrepair. I hoped that it meant that as the clinic was losing business and … that this battered sign meant hope that soon no preborn babies would lose their lives at this location.”
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KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN
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“It was an abortion day in Kalamazoo,” a third prayer volunteer wrote. “I was new to the sidewalk.”
She had prayed at home during several campaigns, but she said the daily 40 Days for Life emails — plus God’s prompting — convinced her she had to do more.
As she and several others prayed outside Planned Parenthood, a large truck pulled up and a man got out. “He thanked us for being there and for praying,” she said. “He explained that his oldest child was aborted. All these years later he still carried that pain and loss. He lived the tragedy.”
He thanked the volunteers again, then drove away.
“If I had any doubts of my need to be there, they were instantly gone,” she wrote. “God sent the guy in the big truck to tell me that my presence mattered. God keeps showing me that our presence on the sidewalk matters.”
Here’s the link to today’s devotional.
As we begin the second week of this 40 Days for Life, let’s pray that God continues to pour out His rich blessings on everyone involved!
Yours for Life,
Shawn Carney
Campaign Director
40 Days for Life
PS: If you have good news to report about 40 Days for Life in your community, please post a comment below.
February 20th, 2013 at 9:51 am
My story doesn’t involve a sidewalk but does involve 2 states. My cousin, who lives in CA, found out she was pregnant and was considering abortion. Yesterday, she had an ultrasound and found out she was having twins! I was already praying and asking a few close friends to pray for all three of them. I got her in touch with a crisis pregnancy center in Los Angeles and sent her a few verses to read. I also told her I’d do whatever I could to help.
I got this text yesterday: “I’m not gonna abort. This is God’s way of getting my [butt] in check.”
Praise God! Thank you so much for your movement and book. I read the whole thing in three days and it gave me ideas I used to prayerfully persuade my cousin to life.
February 20th, 2013 at 10:22 am
While visiting Indianapolis over the weekend my husband and I chose to stop at the 40 Days Vigil site to pray. We had not even been there an hour yet when a woman pulled up on the busy street and stopped to run over and tell us how years earlier, when she was coming to the clinic for her abortion, she prayed that God would have people present at the clinic if this was not His choice for her. Her prayers were answered and she said there were lots of people there praying and holding signs that convinced her God WAS speaking to her! She was thrilled to say God had blessed her for her decision because her boyfriend (who had encouraged her to have the abortion) has since become her husband (she says the BEST husband EVER!) and they treasure their son as well as a daughter born since then! I convinced her to come back to the vigil when she had time to be present for someone else who may be in the same situation and she said she will!
Evelyn and Dean Fort Wayne 40 Days for Life
February 20th, 2013 at 10:43 am
I went to pray outside an abortion clinic the other day in Lansing, Michigan. What struck me from my last visit was the amount of people that honke as they drove by. There was many people praying, just me and a mother and daughter, but I was encouraged that those who honked were also praying.
February 20th, 2013 at 11:47 am
What your organization & the volunteers do on behalf of unborn babies is heartwarming & inspiring. No one but God can know the impact you make. Caring about people & their lives came at an early age for me &, despite being disillusioned/discouraged at times, my passion for trying to help those in any kind of need, continues. I am 100% opposed to abortion for ANY reason(s). Preventative measures for ‘unwanted’ pregnancies/birth(s) other than abortion are, also, available through Planned Parenthood which is, in my opinion, a positive thing. If pregnancy is not wanted, prevention is best but that is not happening even with various methods of birth control, including abstinence, readily available. The solution to ‘unwanted pregnancy’, thus, unwanted birth is simple yet the situation continues, so we, with God’s help through our prayers, continue on. If the life of ONE baby is saved, it is all worthwhile.
February 20th, 2013 at 12:58 pm
“Our presence makes a difference” is something that I’ve personally witnessed throughout the multiple 40 Days for Life Campaigns that my husband and I have been blessed to have been a part of. At times you feel as though nothing is happening and then all of a sudden, either a save takes place during the time that you’re praying at the site or the good news of a life saved is revealed months later by the person who changed their mind. And the reality is, there are many hearts changed and lives saved that we may not hear about or have witnessed, but miracles are happening throughout the globe during these 40 Days of prayer, fasting and outreach to our brothers and sisters in need. I’d like to share one of the blessings that we personally experienced while praying during the 40 Days for Life Campaign last fall:
My husband was praying outside the Planned Parenthood in Clifton, on Auburn Avenue when a woman approached him while he was praying. He smiled, thought that she was possibly new to the 40 Days for Life Campaign and asked “are you here to pray”? She then appeared troubled and responded “I’m here for an abortion” and the tears began to flow as she shared her story. She is a wife, a mother of multiple children, a daughter and a cancer survivor whose family is struggling financially and expecting another child. And she said although she doesn’t believe in abortion that after talking with those at Planned Parenthood, she thought there weren’t any other options but to abort the baby. Within minutes her mother, her husband and her other children who had went to park the car arrived and joined in the conversation; they were good people and just looking for someone who cared, someone who would give them hope. My husband asked if they’d consider talking to the pregnancy center (that is less than a mile from the Planned Parenthood facility) and they were able to meet with the family, direct them to the resources that could help them long term and save their baby, save their family. This was truly the work of Our Lord and we are blessed with having witnessed such a blessing. And please remember, that we don’t always hear the good news but it is taking place all around us! God Bless all of you.
February 20th, 2013 at 3:23 pm
Today was my first day of praying near Planned Parenthood. I, like others was quite nervous in not knowing what to expect. I signed up for a time slot last week, but my fear got the best of me and I chickened out. This week, I signed up where there was an organization also signed up. I thought that I could blend in, and I wouldn’t be seen or noticed lol When I looked for the group, I wasn’t able to find them. I asked God for help, not only in getting through the session, but also to find someone else praying. As I jumped back into my car- it was a cold and blustery day in Mass. I found 3 people standing in a spot, and immediately spotted their rosary beads! What a great sign from God. There were 4 of us, and although I was nervous at first, a calmness came over me as I listened to the Hail Mary’s while praying the rosary. What an amazing gift and prayer those words are. The 3 people there were so kind and inviting into their group and their hearts, while we kept our focus on the sad reason we were there. Would I do it again?? You betcha, and am excited to fill my next time slot. I did go out and get the prayer cards to help remember which day goes along with which Mystery, but I am ready to stand up for my beliefs, and trust God completely.
February 20th, 2013 at 5:00 pm
RE: vigil in front of a Rio Rancho, NM P.P.Clinic- Today was very calm. The rain reported, did not come in the 7:00-8:30 am time slot I was there. People waved, but otherwise the businesses in the shopping center & neighborhood residents conducted their business as usual. I was walking back & forth on sidewalk praying for everyone involved in the clinic as well as for patients and other people. I asked GOD to heal the area surrounding the clinic. I believe GOD touched all people around that area today. Today was my 1st time as a vigil volunteer & I am willing to do it again, as led by GOD.
Praise GOD from whom all blessings flow. GOD, heal all areas of people working for /affected by Abortion related issues, etc. on the earth. Thank You Lord.
February 20th, 2013 at 7:17 pm
Dear brother & sisters in Christ,
We are so happy to report that already in the first week of 40daysforlife Spring Campaign we have witnessed 3 young mothers change their minds & decide to keep their beautiful pre-born babies. Mr. Bill Draghi is our faithful “prayer warrior” – out there 7 days a week – and, yes, they’re now doing abortions on Sunday mornings – sad to say – on Main St. in Woodbridge, NJ.
Bill has been able to talk with many of the young parents as they enter the abortion facility & is happy to report that they often stop to tell him that they have changed their mind because of his prayerful presence.
I’m going to invite him to give his own account of the recent “saves” he has experienced on “the front lines” of the abortion war on the pre-born.
God bless all of you for your untiring efforts on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.
Padre Van
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February 20th, 2013 at 9:22 pm
Jim e-mail and said he could not make his schedule time to pray out side of Planned Parenthood but would be down praying as soon as he could.
I e-mailed back saying that when plans are changed that is the work of the Holy Spirit and He wants you there at a different time.
After praying in front of PP, I got an e-mail from Jim:
“That’s funny. I had a young girl stop and thank me for being there. She even offered to buy me a coffee. Now that’s the Holy Spirit!”
February 20th, 2013 at 11:41 pm
We had a rough day in Milwaukee yesterday. Since Milwaukee’s abortion facility was closed today – I hopped up to Sheboygan – Wisconsin’s newest vigil site. Here’s what happened….
I wanted to get as far away from that place as possible. Thankfully, I had made plans to join the Sheboygan 40DFL vigil today. I was uplifted as I spoke to a Lutheran pastor who joined the vigil site to pray. He shared a story with me about how God used him to save a child from abortion. One of his church members called him one day, distressed. “One of the teen-agers is pregnant and her parents are pushing for abortion.” The caller said. He had a rather small congregation – so he deduced it could only be one. The pastor went home to pray with his wife about what to do – who was also pregnant at the time. He knew he would have to confront the grandparents straight away. He thought that this may be an easier situation to resolve – as the grandparents to the child at risk were leaders in the proLife community – but they were resolute in having the child aborted. Then, what he said made me leap for joy! He told the grandparents, “Then I have no other recourse than to excommunicate you from the church. The fifth commandment is very clear – this is an innocent life – and you are about to kill that child.” What a bold and brave man of God! That broke them loose from their resolve – the baby’s life was spared – and the pastor became that child’s God-Father! It’s no wonder he and I got along so well! We are not only brothers in Christ, but both very German and both God-Fathers to a child spared from abortion by our direct intervention. But the stories didn’t end there! It was as if I had met my twin! What an amazing man! I will thank God for the rest of my days to have met this man of God!
February 21st, 2013 at 12:57 am
Just a quick positive note on progress in Wisconsin: Four Planned Parenthood centers in Beaver Dam, Chippewa Falls, Johnson Creek, and Shawano, Wisconsin have all closed due to lack of state funding. This has happened since the current 40 Days For Life Campaign started eight days ago. I was extemely happy to hear this on the news, our prayers are working! Let us continue to pray and hope that more Planned Parenthoods and abortion centers will have to close.
February 24th, 2013 at 3:59 pm
Killing places closed down…pastors standing boldly for life…we have lots to celebrate and give thanks for! Look what God is doing!