A Prayer on "Sanctity of Life Sunday"
I offered up this prayer to our Father this past “Sanctify of Life” Sunday.
Father, we come to you today grieved by what we see in our country, what is tragically a reality all over the world. A culture of death. A devaluing of life.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We affirm with your word that all people are created by You. They are endowed by You with dignity and worth. They are created by Your choice, in Your image, for Your glory. That includes babies - those just born, those inside the womb. They’re not a hunk of tissue. They’re innocent, human beings. Father, forgive us. This nation for perpetuating this injustice. Your people for too often being silent in the face of it.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We pray this would be a home, a land, where all human beings - those made by you in your image - would be welcomed in life and protected by the law. Father, You are the true King of the world. Put men and women in high places that would value life in all its stages. Stretch out your hand. Rescue helpless children - in the fetal stage or approaching adolescence. Protect all life. We pray that our nation would see the horror of abortion. That you would strengthen your people to stand in the gap. Rid us - rid our land - of anti-life actions and also mentalities.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Keep us from bowing to the gods of comfort and convenience. Free us from the self-absorption of our culture. Help the people in your church, and the people of this land, to not see people as problems to be solved, but those made, and gifted by you with a purpose. Forgive us for seeing those made in your image in terms of utility, in terms of power. Give us courage and resolve to stand beside the powerless, to speak up for injustice.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We pray that Your church would be a place that doesn’t just speak out against abortion, but would also seek ways to put our words into action. Make us passionate about adoption, about foster care. Move us to joyfully support mothers in need. To stand beside orphans in their distress. To provide food, shelter, clothing, and emotional support. Job-training, childcare. Whatever is needed.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We pray for crisis pregnancies in our nation. We pray for specifically for the My Life Clinic here in town. Give them the resources, the volunteers, they need. Give them the stamina, the resolve required. Protect them from spiritual harm. Guide desperate families to their doors. Use them in power, we pray. Forgive us for so often living up to the criticism. That we care about babies, not kids. Are concerned about infants, not moms. Change us. Move us.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Give us deep compassion toward those who have either survived the hours of abortion or don’t grasp how horrible this practice really is. Show compassion toward us, Lord. We’ve been silent. We’ve been apathetic.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We pray that Your church would be a place that doesn’t just stand against abortion, but against all injustices toward human life. May we stand
For children, the elderly
The poor, the disabled, the sick, the abused
For those homeless, for refugees,
For those enslaved, for prisoners.
Life is precious. Life is sweet. It is holy. Wherever it is found. In whatever stage of life.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
We also pray for those working with immigrants and refugees in our nation. May they overflow with resources. May you fill their volunteers with strength. Give them smiles and hugs. May their hospitality display the mind-blowing welcome we have found in Christ.
We pray specifically for City of Refuge just down the street. Bless their ministry. Use Garrett the director, the Stolls, all their volunteers for your glory, for the gospel.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Lord, human beings have become planks upon political platforms. They’ve been debated in the abstract. How do we treat these nameless faces? When “love your neighbor” isn’t too complicated.
Interrupt our semantic battles. Our political debates. Give us eyes to see. Ears to hear. Murder. Abuse. Injustice. They’re all around us. We’ve tried to play God as we’ve turned our backs on your image-bearers.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
Protect the vulnerable. End injustice. Bring life. Rid this world of death.
Bring revival. So work in the people of this land that abortion becomes as unthinkable as it should be. Make the thought of disrespecting your image-bearers an impossibility as people are changed by the glorious gospel of Jesus.
But may those revived people utilize means to protect your precious creations. To stand up and scream out that no life is disposable - from the womb to the grave. Let your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven, we pray.
Stretch out Your hand.
Come, Lord Jesus.
How long, oh Lord?
Yet our trust is in You.