Here’s the latest video, a touching three-minute report from the frontlines in Toledo, Ohio:

As we enter the final days of this 40 Days for Life campaign, please keep in mind that God does not always grant the blessing of seeing immediate results from our efforts.

Such is the case in one 40 Days for Life community where the campaign has been conducted several times. Participants knew that because of their peaceful, prayerful witness outside the abortion clinic, lives had been saved from abortion. But what was really going on inside that building?

One person found out in a most surprising way. This person was not scheduled to pray at this particular day and time, but stopped by the vigil following a meeting. The clinic manager stepped outside to clean windows, so the vigil participant saw an opportunity. “I spoke kindly and introduced myself.”

About half an hour later, the manager came out and asked to talk — “and invited me into the clinic!”

To say the least, what followed was an interesting conversation.

The manager wanted to explain and justify what goes on at the clinic, but it seemed like this clinic staffer was offering excuses for being involved in the abortion business. Furthermore, the manager professed to be a Christian who was certain “in my heart” that this was God’s calling, and that what goes on in the clinic is not wrong.

“I asked if the manager’s heart had ever been wrong,” said the vigil participant, “and did my best to lovingly communicate my disagreement and the reasons I am passionate about defending both the unborn and their mothers. I said that Jesus cared for children, and that it does not matter what anyone thinks about when a fetus is a person or whether abortion is wrong. What matters is what God thinks; what Jesus thinks.”

If not for 40 Days for Life, this vigil participant would have been somewhere else, would not have spoken to the clinic manager — and would certainly not have been invited inside for this discussion that planted many seeds.

Is the clinic manager reconsidering the abortion business? We pray! Or as the vigil participant said, “Please pray that God would use my small efforts and words to accomplish big things!”

And sometimes it does take time.

Again with today’s reports, I’m not mentioning locations because these are “works in progress,” and I don’t want publicity to unsettle any hearts that may be in the process of changing — or give the abortion industry a reason to threaten or pressure workers who are considering quitting. Just pray!

At another 40 Days for Life vigil, the prayer team has been praying specifically for a security guard — ever since the first coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign in 2007.

Last week, the security guard and a clinic escort approached the local coordinator with a request — to pray that another pro-lifer, who was not associated with 40 Days for Life, would leave. This particular individual was described as “harsh.”

“Well, you pray for everything else,” said the security guard, “so I thought maybe…”

The coordinator said praying for the person to leave was out of the question, “but I could ask him to reconsider the tone of his message, and we could pray that he would say what God gave him to say. They were actually happy with that response, and thanked me.”

While the local coordinator took all this with a grain of salt, they have been praying for this security guard for more than two years now. “It comes as a sign to me,” the coordinator said, “and I am overjoyed! A beginning is a beginning. Blessed be God!”

Here’s today’s devotional from Carmen Pate, co-host of the “Point of View” radio talk show…

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DAY 35 INTENTION
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Pray for post-abortive women who cannot forgive themselves; may they understand that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

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SCRIPTURE
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Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the one to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.

– Romans 4:7-8

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REFLECTION by Carmen Pate
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In the passage above, the Apostle Paul making a point about justification by faith, refers back to David’s words in Psalm 32:1-2. In spite of the enormity of David’s sin — adultery with Bathsheba and his murder of her husband — and the utter absence of any personal merit, David in his brokenness, understood the imputed righteousness of God. David’s response was not continued guilt over his sins, but praise for his freedom from guilt, and God’s power to live life differently.

Once your relationship with God has been restored, your guilt has served its purpose and should no longer be given place in your life. This is true regardless of the sin, including the sin of abortion. As a post-abortive woman, I too struggled with this issue until I realized that punishing and hating myself after receiving God’s forgiveness was an insult to God.

It was as though I were minimizing Christ’s work on the cross as insufficient to cover my sin. I was denying Him the opportunity to bring glory to His name for the healing and restoration He wanted to do in my life. I was giving victory to the enemy who having lost the battle for my soul, was bent on destroying my testimony as I accepted the continual guilt he heaped on my mind.

It is my joy to continually sing of God’s grace rather than give the devil a foothold in my life. Don’t waste God’s mercy! Accept His forgiveness and forgive yourself as testimony of His amazing grace.

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PRAYER
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Our Most Gracious Heavenly Father, thank you for your amazing grace that saved a wretch like me. I come against the enemy of my soul who would have me feel cast down and dejected.

Lord, keep your children from falling prey to the accusations of the father of lies. Turn our mourning into dancing and may we bring praise to you as we give testimony of Your healing and restoration in our lives. For by His grace we are saved, Amen.

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PRINTABLE DEVOTIONAL
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To download today’s devotional as a formatted, printable PDF to share with friends:

http://40daysforlife.com/docs/fall2009day35print.pdf

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For Life,

David Bereit
National Director
40 Days for Life

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 27th, 2009 at 1:02 am and is filed under 09 Fall Campaign, 40 Days for Life, Devotionals, Video. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.