The idea of somebody protesting a prayer vigil may sound odd. But it does happen — because prayer is effective.
As one local 40 Days for Life coordinator said, “the protest shows so clearly that our prayer vigil has hit a nerve. It has unmasked what it is really going on.”
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ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
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About 10 people were praying at the peaceful vigil when a car pulled up behind them outside the abortion center. The driver called out, “Please convince my daughter not to kill her baby!”
The volunteers looked up from their prayer and saw a woman behind the wheel, with her 16-year-old daughter at her side. The teen was quite upset that her mother stopped to talk, and she unleashed a wave of profanity as she got out of the car.
Some of the volunteers went to talk to the mother — including a couple with a one-month-old baby. They soon learned that the mother and daughter had just left Planned Parenthood, where the mother had signed a consent form permitting the girl to have an abortion.
But when the teenager’s mom saw the people praying outside, she knew in her heart that she had made a terrible mistake. She went back inside and demanded that Planned Parenthood tear up the consent form — but she said they refused.
About this time, the teen returned to the car. “The girl was a little more open to talking to us,” said Bob, one of the volunteers. “Eventually, the girl stated that she never wanted to kill her baby. But she was scared and did not know what else to do.”
The young couple then asked the girl if she’d like to hold their infant. “She held the baby for about 10 minutes,” Bob said. “A deep conversion was happening in her, too.”
Bob said the vigil participants “are all still processing what happened. But there is no doubt that we all experienced the providence of God. We will continue to pray for the mother, the girl and her baby.”
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HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA
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The 40 Days for Life vigil in Halifax takes place outside a hospital where abortions are done. Last Sunday, “the line was drawn clearly between good and evil,” said Julie, the local coordinator. For three hours, protesters “sat directly across from us, holding their signs and playing terrible music very loud.”
When Julie arrived at the vigil, she saw a small group of protesters — who were outnumbered by the 12 people who were praying for an end to abortion. That’s far more than had originally signed up for that hour of prayer.
“One pastor and his wife told me that they had felt God urging them to come down this afternoon to pray,” she said. “A woman told me that she had felt so restless at home, that she decided to come and pray. A man dropped by and then stayed until the last protester packed up and left the site. A group of 7 or 8 came from one church after their service. God definitely urged people to come today to pray.”
Julie said this should reassure you that the Lord will provide for our needs in this vigil. “God knew what was awaiting us there today, and He quietly stirred hearts so that more people came to pray than came to protest.”
LifeNews.com Note: Shawn Carney is the campaign director for the 40 Days for Life pro-life prayer campaign against abortion.
