Prayer Resources for the Ending of Abortion
Many people and ministries take the opportunity to pray for the ending of abortion on January 22nd, which is the anniversary of Roe vs. Wade in 1973 when abortion became legal in the United States. Here are a few of the various activities and prayer events that are taking place which you can partner with or use as a resource for your own prayers regarding the ending of abortion.
March for Life
The March for Life has been taking place in Washington, DC ever since January 22, 1974, the first anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, to remember this day and to take a stand for the lives of the unborn. Since that first march where approximately 20,000 people attended, it has grown to about 200,000 in recent years.
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
All the dioceses are called to observe January 22nd as a day of “penance for violations to the dignity of the human person committed through acts of abortion, and of prayer for the full restoration of the legal guarantee of the right to life.” Listed on this page are several Catholic pro-life liturgies that can be used for intercession. In Washington, they also hold the National Prayer Vigil for Life, which starts tonight and goes through the night, leading up to the March for Life that also takes place in Washington.
“A great prayer for life is urgently needed, a prayer which will rise up throughout the world. Through special initiatives and in daily prayer, may an impassioned plea rise to God, the Creator and lover of life, from every Christian community, from every group and association, from every family and from the heart of every believer.”
-Pope John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, no. 100
Priests for Life
The Priests for Life organization called for a Novena of Reparation, which is basically nine days of prayer, beginning on January 14th and leading up to January 22nd, inviting people to pray each day for the ending of abortion. On their site are also several prayer resources such as the Daily Prayer to End Abortion, a list of Pro-Life Prayers, and a 30-Day Prayer Devotional for Life.
22 Prayers for Life
I also took some time & picked out 22 Prayers for Life from a couple of the Catholic sites and put them in one document as a resource for you! I must say, I was totally blessed to read about the Catholic’s strong stance for life and their strong focus and push for prayer for this issue. To see the way they unite in prayer and how they gather together for this cause was greatly encouraging to my heart. May a passion and a heart and prayers for the issue of life continue to grow in the hearts of Christians across North America!
22 Prayers for Life.doc
22 Prayers for Life.pdf
**Note about these prayers: Most of the prayers have been copied word for word from either the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website (http://www.usccb.org/) or the Priests for Life website (http://www.priestsforlife.org/). I tried to note that a prayer was “Adapted” if I made any changes. Most changes were only to make the prayers applicable to both the United States and Canada or to make the prayers more non-denominational in nature and adaptable to all Christians – Catholic or not. For the most part, the prayers remained unchanged, but you can also view the original sources by clicking on the provided links.
If you know of any other events or great prayer resources for the ending of abortion, please leave a comment with the links.
