"RESOLVE TO PRAY FOR LIFE IN 2018 - EXPECT THE LORD TO ANSWER"- by: John Stonestreet & G. Shane Morris, Breakpoint.org, Jan. 9, 2018;
https://www.focusonthefamily.com/pro-life/promos/participate-in-sanctity-of-human-life-sunday to end for some free resources before that Sunday. Thank you. - Stan]
If you’re a regular listener or reader of our BreakPoint commentaries, you know that we are staunchly pro-life. And likely you are, too. Every human life, in or out of the womb, is precious and invested with a special dignity, having been created in God’s image. But in our culture, life is assaulted. Christians should, at the same time, both love unborn babies and their mothers, and also hate what abortion does to them—and to our broken society.
Many of our BreakPoint listeners and readers are active in the pro-life movement. Many of you have walked a picket line, written a letter to the editor, or volunteered at a pregnancy care center. Many of you have given money, sacrificially, to support pro-life organizations. And yet, despite all this effort by you and millions like you and the great progress made by the pro-life community, the monstrous evil of legal abortion continues.
The statistics, 45 years after Roe v. Wade, are so well-known by now that, incredibly, they fail to shock us as they should. Around 60 million unborn American babies—think of it!—60 million, have succumbed to abortion since 1973. That’s more than the combined populations of Texas and New York. Each year some 652,000 abortions are still performed in the U.S. About one in three women will have an abortion by age 45. Nearly half (49 percent) of abortions are among women and teens 24 years of age and younger. These are sobering and, if we’re honest, depressing numbers.
And yet, there’s good news, some really good news. First, public opinion is turning against unlimited abortion. Even young people, who are generally liberal on social issues, are quite conservative when it comes to life. A study by Students for Life of America found that just seventeen percent of millennials support anything-goes abortion. And a Knights of Columbus poll in 2014 found an incredible 84 percent of Americans want to restrict abortion to the first three months of pregnancy or less!
Second, many states have enacted laws over the years that have restricted abortion and even forced some Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to close their grisly death mills— in fact, 37 abortion clinics closed in 2017 alone. Praise God!
And the best news of all is that God is with us on this issue, and He answers the prayers of His people. Is anything impossible for God? Jesus Christ reigns over heaven and earth, He loves the little children, and He is perfectly willing and able to answer our prayers for them. And there are some things that we’re called to that will only, only be accomplished through prayer.
So let all of us who love life, born and unborn, commit to praying through this New Year, asking and expecting God to act. That’s something that all of us, no matter our political, financial, or social status, can do.
And so, once again, we’re asking you to join thousands of others in what has now become an annual effort here at BreakPoint and the Colson Center: the 21 Days of Prayer for Life. Come to BreakPoint.org/21Days to download a free “21 Days of Prayer for Life” prayer guide, complete with moving stories, statistics, discussion questions, and of course, prayer requests for life. Even more, each day will equip you to not only pray but also to make the case for life with friends and neighbors. And it’s free. Use it in your family, your churches, your small groups. Breakpoint.org/21Days.
There’s also a 21 Days of Prayer for Life app for your smart phone or computer. When you download the app, you’ll not only get the 21 days of pro-life devotionals and training, but you’ll receive pro-life prayer requests six days a week all 52 weeks this year. Can you imagine what would happen if thousands of Christians would pray for life and against abortion every day of 2018?
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RESOURCES - Download the free pdf resource “21 Days of Prayer for Life” and join pro-lifers everywhere as we intercede for those who have no voice.
"21 Days of Prayer for Life, prayer guide" - http://www.breakpoint.org/2016/12/21-days-of-prayer-for-life/
The Case for Life: Equipping Christians to Engage the Culture - Scott Klusendorf | Crossway Books | March 2009; http://www.colsoncenterstore.org/product.asp?sku=1433503204
"CDCs Abortion Surveillance System FAQs" - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/data_stats/abortion.htm
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