Prayer Changes Things
And He said to them, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer.”
Mark 9:29
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4: 4-7
As we are coming to the end of our 40 days of prayer and fasting, I’m reflecting on all the prayers that were prayed. It’s actually hard to fathom. We have been in constant prayer for the women & men, their babies, the workers, security guards, the escorts, the homeless, the passersby and all who cross our paths. Everyone has a story to tell and there are many needs all around us; some we may not even realize. Sometimes we may not have answers or solutions. but we know who does and we can always go to Him anytime and anywhere. God hears our prayers and answers them as only He can. We see that many are without Jesus and it breaks our hearts. Our most fervent prayer is for salvation for all who do not know Jesus. We pray for all who do not know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Our prayer is that they would have an encounter with Him just like the woman at the well in John 4:7-30 or like the man at the pool, who was an invalid for 38 years, in John 5: 1-17. We know that saving faith rests only in the person and power of Jesus. Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill His promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9
Father, we thank You for all the ways You are working to change hearts and minds. We thank You for all who have come to the sidewalk and will continue to come. We praise You for the laborers for the harvest. We praise You for lives saved and all the blessings on the sidewalk, and there are many. We pray for those who mock and jeer us and thank you for those who bless us. We pray and believe that Pittsburgh will be a Sanctuary City for Life. We pray that You would raise up godly leaders in this upcoming election. You are sovereign over all and You will not be mocked. All honor, praise ,and glory to Jesus, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We ask all this in Jesus name. Amen
-Donna
“Blessed are those that mourn, they will be comforted.”
It was a busy day at Planned Parenthood on November 1, All Saints Day. Between 9 and 11 there were about 8 to 10 abortion minded women who entered the temple. As each one entered, my heart grew heavier and heavier. I looked to our lady of Guadalupe next to me and said, “This is horrible.” And I realized she was no stranger to evil and sadness. She saw what was going on.
I looked over to my fellow advocate as she pleaded with the couple to reconsider. I joined her. Our voices fell on deaf ears. They were sacrificing this innocent life to the gods of convenience and security.
Yesterday our advocacy failed. Have we offered these holy innocents anything of value? Someone walking by could say, “You are wasting your time and causing a needless commotion. At least consider how bad you are making these poor women feel.”
I would ask, who is mourning the deaths of these children? Yesterday, when these 10 children were killed, who was mourning their loss? Was there any mention on the local news or obituaries? No!! Their precious bodies are sold to medical science so that “everyone benefits.“ Their parents may even have celebrated or at least breathed a sigh of relief.
The truth is we mourned these holy innocents by our prayers and sadness and tears. They matter enough to us that we show up regardless. They do not die alone or forgotten. They do not enter eternity alone.
At the end of the day we are advocates for the unborn. But just as important, we are mourners for these precious little ones who will never see the light of day. They are however at this moment seeing Him face to face in the light of eternity.
May they pray for their parents and for us.
Conrad
Stories from the Sidewalk
Witnessing in front of Planned Parenthood downtown always makes me feel like I have a role in Jesus’ story, “Abraham, the Rich Man, and Lazarus” (Luke 16:19-31).
Barbara
Abraham said to the rich man, “If they will not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone should rise from the dead.”
But we know God’s mercy!!! We ask God to soften the hearts of abortion bound people. We may not see results. But we know that our God, Our Father, Beauty Ever Ancient Ever New, in Whom we live and move and have our being … our God will not give us a stone!!!
I filled in for Pastor Joe and Judy for the 9 to 11 shift today. Please pray for both of them as Pastor Joe had surgery on Monday and Judy is sick. Please also continue to pray for Jeannie as she does not have a car after it was stolen from in front of her shop yesterday! Sadly, it was a very busy abortion day today with many couples going in. I did my best to offer them help and hope, but it did not appear that anybody changed their mind. It was wonderful to share the sidewalk with a very prayerful group from St. Anne Parish in Rostraver. Thanks to all who came, and thank you to Ken and Julia and her friends who showed up right on time to relieve us at 11.
Nikki
Carolyn with Our Lady and Peggy who has joined with us the past 3 weeks are pictured above. Thanks Peggy. Please pray for a friend of theirs, a young man named Nathan, who was killed in a jet ski accident on his honeymoon. They are praying for a miracle.
Fr. Jim has been our faithful driver and prayer witness every week. A man from the streets asked him for absolution today. And I thank my friend Patti for coming every time she is able. She has much to do but took time to come today. They prayed the usual two rosaries and one Divine Mercy.
It was cold but sunny. Praise God!
We need to watch the the street people who come by. One man was drunk today and snapped up every water bottle, and would have taken more but I stood in front of our stuff and closed up the case. I handed him what I thought he could use.
I had a good talk with Laura. Trying to work with others to get her some help.
Cil
When we arrived, Carolyn, from the 1 to 3 shift, was speaking with a mother and her year and a half old baby boy, whose name was Jeremiah. She told us that the doctor said he could be aborted, because he has Down Syndrome. She said she told the doctors that God made him that way for a reason, and he’ll be born that way. So she rejected the abortion and chose life. We thanked her for her choice and told her we would pray for her. We did see one young girl, probably only in high school, enter Planned Parenthood. We immediately began to pray for her. She did come out several minutes later, apparently holding a business card. We prayed she would never return. We also handed out Halloween candy to some school-age kids and a couple of homeless people. Lots of passersby, dressed in Steeler fan gear, getting ready for the game tonight. We prayed a group chaplet of Divine Mercy at the 3 o’clock hour, a group Rosary, and also prayed the Stations of the Cross.
Larry
Thank you to all the wonderful 40 days for life prayer warriors. I have just picked up my vehicle from Mount Washington. Police found my stolen car and in the morning I will go through its contents but aside from some bumps and bruises and trash it looks pretty good! As a sidenote, I had purchased three strollers to give away at Little Lamb and I had diapers for Regina. All are still in the car. Our God is an awesome God!
Praise God for this wonderful news! We were all praying for you, Jeannie! God is good!