40 Days for Life is a coordinated global campaign to END ABORTION through prayer, fasting and community outreach. It includes a continuous 40-day peaceful prayerful vigil at one abortion clinic in each city.
Dates: 28th September – 6th November 2011 (runs twice annually)
The Campaign
40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through a three-point program:
- Prayer and fasting
- Prayer vigil
- Community outreach
40 Days for Life takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighbourhoods, for their own friends and families. It puts into action a desire to cooperate with God in the carrying out of His plan for the end of abortion in Australia. The 40-day campaign parallels Biblical history, where God used 40-day periods to transform individuals, communities … and the entire world. From Noah in the flood to Moses on the mountain to the disciples after Christ’s resurrection, it is clear that God sees the transformative value of His people accepting and meeting a 40-day challenge.
The Components
Prayer and fasting:
Christ told us that some demons can only be driven out by prayer and fasting. The two go hand-in-hand. Prayer keeps us rooted in the fact that it is our desire to carry out God’s will. Fasting is a sacrifice that helps us reach beyond our own limitations with God’s help. Fasting is not a Christian diet; it is a form of physical prayer. You can fast from food, TV, alcohol … anything that involves denying yourself to say yes to God and his purposes.
Prayer vigil:
The most visible component of 40 Days for Life is a continuous prayer vigil outside a place where children are aborted. It is a peaceful prayerful witness to the clinic’s patients and employees, and to the entire community, that evil is in our midst and that with God’s help, it will be defeated.
Community outreach:
During 40 Days for Life, the pro-life message is proactively taken to the community through a focused, grassroots educational effort. Specific outreach activities may take many forms but will always be positive, uplifting and peaceful in nature.
The Call
Being involved in the campaign against abortion is vital. The first step that everyone can take is to begin with prayer and fasting. You can pray at any time and in any place. Wherever you are or whatever you’re doing, pray to end abortion. And you can pray for God’s guidance for those involved in prayer vigils and pro-life action around Australia.
You can be involved by participating in a prayer vigil outside a selected abortion facility in your city during the 40 day campaign period. This vigil is a peaceful and educational presence. Those who are called to stand witness in this way send a powerful message to the community about the tragic reality of abortion. It also serves as a call to repentance for those who work at the abortion centre and those who patronise the facility. To find the location of the vigil and to register your involvement, go to www.40daysforlife.com
Finally, you can be involved in community outreach. During the 40 Days for Life campaign period, the pro-life message is taken powerfully and proactively into the broader community. Details of how you can be involved will be published online in the lead up to the campaign period.
Resources
Go to the Resouces Tab to download brochures, posters, newsletter text and other useful files.
To have someone to speak at your church or to request mail out of hardcopy brochures, posters or a DVD of a promotional DVD, please contact us.