"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life and have it abundantly." (John 10:10)

     Imagine that one morning we wake up to learn that Roe v. Wade has been overturned. Suddenly, the usual 1.1 million abortions that take lives every year come to a complete standstill, declared illegal.  Our dreams come true at last. Except for one thing: unplanned pregnancies continue.  

      Are we prepared to win this ongoing battle?

     John 10:10 reminds us to let our hearts brim with passion for life after birth. We are called not just to fight for life inside the womb, but abundant life for children when they are born. That is the abundant life that Jesus Christ came to give, as well as the spiritual blessings that a strong family and a loving, shepherding Church Body can nurture.

      How can we allow God's transformative love and compassion to reach through us and provide a loving context to help care for infants by strengthening women and men as parents?

      First, consider this: Christ warns that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Remember to identify the Enemy's strategies. He whispers lies, calling the abortion issue "complicated."  He tries to chase men from the fight by calling it a "women's issue."  As our culture falls for that lie, the family structure crumbles and children suffer. 

      Approximately 85 percent of the women who experience abortions are unmarried. Research shows single mothers are more likely to have low birth-weight babies and live in poverty. Some parents face unexpected pregnancies as the result of lifestyles we would never choose. Others face pregnancies with health, financial, or social complications. And, when approximately 65 percent of women who experience abortion identify as Christian, church families are not immune. 

      Meanwhile, studies find that a father's church attendance has a profound impact on the future church attendance of his children, even greater than a mother's attendance. And how children view their Heavenly Father depends a great deal on how they view their earthly one.

     So, let's remember another verse, letting it resonate in our prayers this year and steep our conscience: 

     "But after he [Joseph] had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.'  ... When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him...." (Matthew1:20, 24) 

PRAYER FOCUS: THE AMERICAN FAMILY

•   Intercede that more and more 
  fathers will speak up for their unborn children and defend them. Pray for compassion and softening of hearts (Psalm 103:13).
   
• Life decisions require life support. Pray that advocates for life will find solutions and build partnerships that are not just about saving babies, but about raising children in Christ-centered families and bringing them into the full promise of the Kingdom of God. Pray that today's children, as well as the next generation, will reap an inheritance of blessing and righteousness (Proverbs 13:22).
   
•   Pray that women and men, when facing pregnancy decisions, will be encouraged and empowered to choose marriage and parent their children together as a family.