Due to extreme blizzard conditions this past weekend, the March for Life received unprecedented national attention. Beyond crowd estimates or miracles in the midst of travel, a longtime Bound4LIFE intercessor tells firsthand what she saw and experienced.
All photos: Aaron Wong for Bound4LIFE International. Used with permission from Bound4LIFE.
Hundreds of times I have stood in silent prayer outside the court – but with a blizzard bearing down on the city, this time would be like no other. We had committed to stand in silent prayer for two hours, in solidarity with the silent cries of pre-born babies.
No matter what the weather threw at us, we were determined to pray.
As we arrived at the steps of the United States Supreme Court, the air was already charged.
We lifted up our fellow pro-life advocates who would arrive at this endpoint of the March for Life. If past years were any guide, their peaceful demeanor would clash with the raised voices and angry chants of the few pro-choice activists gathered.
With our fingers getting cold, we began to write out Life Tape for the three dozen intercessors who had joined us. One by one, we took our place before the barricades – making up a wall of intercession before the court.
Shoulder to shoulder, as the snow began to fall, we lifted our hearts in appeal to the court of Heaven for the Lord to release his wisdom and justice on behalf of unborn babies – and the women and men wounded by abortion.
Intercessors from across the nation, undeterred by the forecast and bitter cold, had joined us to intercede on this critical day. Many of these individuals have had their lives shifted by prayer sieges like this very one.
Like Randy Bohlender who came with his son Zion. While standing on this same stretch of pavement eleven years earlier, he felt the call of God to help raise up an adoption movement to be the answer to abortion.
Now he and his wife Kelsey have started up Zoe’s House Adoption Agency in the midst of raising their ten children, six of whom are adopted.
Mindy and Denny, along with their three precious daughters, embody the Father’s heart through adoption – dedicating their time and talents to the Orphan Justice Center. They also serve as directors of LIFE Initiatives at International House of Prayer-Kansas City, part of the Bound4LIFE prayer network.
In the midst of the tumult of protestors and bullhorns, our faithful band of intercessors experienced the peace of God. We set our hearts on our heavenly King, whom Isaiah 42 ensures will faithfully bring forth justice in the earth.
For those like Jared from the International House of Prayer-Tallahassee, the snow would not deter him and his young family from taking part. He has labored for years in the Sunshine State praying and advocating for life.
This has opened doors for their team to present red Life Bands to a number of presidential candidates – a symbol of commitment to defend the unborn, and a daily reminder to pray.
Many of us, like these two pro-life advocates from Texas, focused our prayers on the nine justices of the Supreme Court who will be weighing eight pro-life cases in a matter of weeks.
Especially pertinent will be a challenge to the commonsense Texas law HB2 that requires abortion clinics to abide by widely accepted health, safety and sanitation standards.
For the leader of Bound4LIFE, Matt Lockett, this day brought a mixture of emotions: a solemn reminder of eleven long years of intercession as the injustice of abortion has continued, while filled with hope for the year ahead.
The driving wind and icy cold could not dampen our spirits, as we know the momentum is shifting in America: public opinion now reflects firm beliefs in upholding the value of every life, including among millennials.
Even young children like 12 year-old Samuel wanted to join us in prayer for the pre-born babies to have their right to life protected – before heading back inside, out of the cold.
For Monique, uniting in prayer with Bound4LIFE Chapter Leaders from across the nation was especially meaningful. As a strong single mother, she has been faithfully praying with a small remnant for years outside a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in the Bronx in New York City – where more babies of color are aborted each year than born.
On this pivotal day, she did not stand alone. Monique returned to the Big Apple with a renewed hope for her community.
Just as the cries of the unborn are heard by God, we know our prayers and tears are heard in heaven. “Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America.”
We do not stand in prayer begging to get God’s attention.
Regardless of the path we took – pro-life since childhood, adopted out of broken situations, or finding healing from our own involvement in past abortions – we see the common thread that God arrested our hearts over this great injustice that shatters His.
Jesus is serious about ending the scourge of abortion. It is He who called us here. He will use prayer, and advocacy like the Silent No More Awareness Campaign, to change hearts and shift culture.
It is out of love for Him – and for the pre-born children, mothers and fathers made in His image – that we will continue to stand in the gap. We are bound for life to this cause.
So week by week, day by day, small groups of intercessors will put on freshly hand-written pieces of Life Tape outside abortion clinics and court houses across America – as a witness to the silent unborn who are crying out for life.
If Roe v. Wade is still the law of the land in 2017, no matter the weather conditions, you’ll know right where to find us at the March for Life – on that sacred space of pavement before the court of man and the court of Heaven.
LifeNews Note: For over a decade, Terri Shepherd has taken part in pro-life advocacy with Bound4LIFE —a grassroots movement to pray for the ending of abortion and for revival worldwide. She graduated from TheCall Institute at the International House of Prayer University in Kansas City, and earned a degree in social work from the University of Central Florida. Living in the Washington, DC area with her husband, Terri works at a leading Christian public policy organization. Reprinted with permission from Bound4Life.
