When I was fourteen years old I learned to type. This fact pleased my father immensely because he needed some help. For years he’d been handwriting his letters to then-Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania asking him to vote pro-life. (Sadly, despite my dad’s letters, I don’t think Senator Specter ever did.) 

I squinted and strained to make out dad’s handwriting as I re-typed phrases like, “abortion is murder” and “please spare the lives of these innocent babies.” My dad took his pro-life passion and directed it at the men in power who could do something. 

Like father like daughter, I guess. I started working on Capitol Hill my last year of college. I went on to get a graduate degree in public policy and work for pro-life congressional candidates. “We’re going to fix this issue in Washington.” I resolved in my head. 

But then I moved out of the beltway. Between having babies and moving wherever my husband’s job sent us, I lost track of the legislation. Likewise, I didn’t have time get to know my representatives or research their voting records. Four children later, it often feels like there’s not much I can do anymore to advance the pro-life cause. 

Then I remember to pray. No matter what the political climate or what kind of legislation New York or Virginia passes regarding life, Christians have a secret weapon. 

And, it’s effective. Likely more effective than those letters my dad used to send to his Senator’s office. 

Over the past few decades we’ve seen the number of abortions decrease. We have seen thousands of pregnancy centers opened in communities across the country and pro-life advocates have saved more than a million lives. There is power in our prayers. But, we have to pray them. 

1 John 5:14 says we can have confidence in approaching God and that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. We know our God is a God of life. 

Many other scriptures in the Bible tell us to pray continually (1 Thes. 5:17), to always seek his face. (1 Chron. 16:11, James 5:13), and to pray on every occasion (Eph. 6:18). We know that the fervent prayers of a righteous man are effective (James 5:16). And, we can be confident that God hears our prayers (1 Peter 3:12). 

But it can feel hard to pray. We wonder if we’re really making a difference. Can I encourage you? The work done on our knees is more effective than what fills our decrees. 

If you’re not a natural-born prayer warrior, it’s not hard to get started. All you have to do is commit to spending a few minutes each day praying specifically for the pro-life movement. 

One helpful way to remember to do this is to set a reminder on your calendar each day for the same time. When you hear the alert ding, you pray! 

Choose a time of day when your most likely to see the notification and enter the following reminders on your phone for each day of the week at a specific time. 

Set these reminders to repeat so you’ll get them every week and be reminded to pray each day. 

Sunday: Pray for our elected officials to have hearts that are soft and courage to stand up in defense of life. 

Monday: Pray for Care Net. Pray for the staff and leadership to have wisdom, stamina, and creativity as they continue defending life and equipping those centers who work directly with women considering abortion. 

Tuesday: Pray for your local pregnancy center. If you don’t know of where your closest center is, find it here. Pray for the staff, volunteers, and for the clients they’ll see and talk to this week. 

Wednesday: Pray for women considering abortion in your city. Pray that God would speak encouragement to their fearful hearts, lead them to life-promoting people and resources, and that they would feel His love. 

Thursday: Pray for the fathers of these babies. Pray that God would turn the hearts of the fathers towards their unborn child and the mother of the baby and that they would have the courage to do hard things for the sake of new life. 

Friday: Pray for the unborn. Pray God’s protection over these little ones. 

Saturday: Pray for your church. Pray for the pastors and staff that they would boldly advocate for life and be seen as a compassionate place to find help for women and men facing crisis pregnancy. If your church runs a Making Life Disciples Group pray for those involved. 

Our prayers can and do make a huge difference. Won’t you help us employee this “secret weapon” in our fight for the promotion of abundant life?