The vision of the international 40 Days for Life organization is to end abortion locally through prayer and fasting, community outreach, and a peaceful all-day vigil in front of abortion businesses. It is important that our prayer volunteers have a strong presence on-site at Planned Parenthood. This year, we will be focusing our efforts on the Fairview Heights, IL Planned Parenthood. We know some people are homebound and we invite those to pray from home. We also do have an opportunity to pray on campus at Ascension at 11:30am in the Main Church. We encourage you to make the trip to Fairview Heights for maximum impact towards 40 Days' mission!

Watch below as some of our prayer warriors share their witness testimonies:

Common Misconceptions About Praying at Planned Parenthood DEBUNKED:

Pro-Life Prayer Ideas

Prayer For Mothers Contemplating Abortion: 

Lord, so many women face pressures to abort. They think abortion is their only choice or are deceived by others to think that it is their best choice. Help all women to acknowledge the truth in their hearts that abortion is wrong. We pray for the women and girls who are right now feeling pressure to abort. Help them to find the truth, the support, the courage, and the grace they need to resist the temptation and pressures to choose abortion. Help their friends and family to be generous in offering their encouragement and help. Help them to connect to a pregnancy center, the Gabriel project, or other sources of support. Give them peace and confidence that their choice for life will truly be the best choice for themselves as well as for their child. Help them to feel your presence with them, Lord, and feel secure in your arms, knowing that you will be with them through whatever difficulties the pregnancy presents for them. Help the challenges that they face during the pregnancy serve to bring them closer to you. Help them to discern your will as they plan for the future of their child. Help them to understand adoption as a loving way to provide their child with a loving and stable home. Lord, we place these women in your hands and ask your mercy on them. We pray also for those who are not yet pregnant but are risking an unwanted pregnancy by the choices they have made. Help them to come to know your beautiful plan for sexuality; help them to change their lives and know true love and peace in your friendship, by following your will for their lives.

Prayer For Mothers Who Have Aborted: 

Lord, have mercy on women who have made the mistake of choosing abortion, as well as on anyone who has pressured, coerced, or helped a woman to abort. Help them to get past any denial they may be in, and accept the truth that abortion is wrong. Help them to know your forgiveness and healing, and be able to forgive themselves. Help the mothers to forgive the others who pressured or coerced them to abort, or simply failed to offer the support they needed. Help all of us to treat post-abortive women, as well as others involved in the decision, with respect and compassion, rather than judgment. If you are calling them to share their experience in order to help prevent others from making a similar mistake, please help them to correctly discern that call and have the courage to respond in a positive way. 

For those who work in the abortion industry: 

Lord, there are thousands of doctors in our nation that use their skills to take life rather than to preserve it. There are also nurses who help them, and other staff members who support their work and encourage abortion in various ways. Please, Lord, remove from their hearts and minds any misconceptions they may have that abortion helps women, or that the child is not a fully human child of God, worthy of respect. Expose the lies they may have been told to the light of your truth. Give them the courage to face the truth that abortion is grievously wrong and harmful to both women and their children. Help them to trust in your never-ending love for them, and in your willingness to forgive their sin. Give them hope that they can find other employment outside of this industry of death.

Pope Benedict's Prayer for the Unborn

Lord Jesus,
You who faithfully visit and fulfill with your Presence
the Church and the history of men;
You who in the miraculous Sacrament of your Body and Blood
render us participants in divine Life
and allow us a foretaste of the joy of eternal Life;
We adore and bless you.

Prostrated before You, source and lover of Life,
truly present and alive among us, we beg you.

Reawaken in us respect for every unborn life,
make us capable of seeing in the fruit of the maternal womb
the miraculous work of the Creator,
open our hearts to generously welcoming every child
that comes into life.

Bless all families,
sanctify the union of spouses,
render fruitful their love.

Accompany the choices of legislative assemblies
with the light of your Spirit,
so that peoples and nations may recognize and respect
the sacred nature of life, of every human life.

Guide the work of scientists and doctors,
so that all progress contributes to the integral well-being of the person,
and no one endures suppression or injustice.

Give creative charity to administrators and economists,
so they may realize and promote sufficient conditions
so that young families can serenely embrace
the birth of new children.

Console the married couples who suffer
because they are unable to have children
and in Your goodness provide for them.

Teach us all to care for orphaned or abandoned children,
so they may experience the warmth of your Charity,
the consolation of your divine Heart.

Together with Mary, Your Mother, the great believer,
in whose womb you took on our human nature,
we wait to receive from You, our Only True Good and Savior,
the strength to love and serve life,
in anticipation of living forever in You,
in communion with the Blessed Trinity.

Prayer To God the Father of All Life

Eternal God, You have revealed Yourself as the Father of all Life. We praise You for the Fatherly care which You extend to all creation, and especially to us, made in Your image and likeness.

Father, extend Your hand of protection to those threatened by abortion, and save them from its destructive power. Give Your strength to all fathers, that they may never give in to the fears that may tempt them to facilitate abortions.

Bless our families and bless our land, that we may have the joy of welcoming and nurturing the life of which You are the source and the Eternal Father. Amen.

Prayer to the Virgin Mary

O Mary, Mother of Jesus and Mother of us all, we turn to you today as the one who said "Yes" to Life. "You will conceive and bear a Son," the angel told you. Despite the surprise and the uncertainty about how this could be, you said yes. "Be it done unto me according to your word."

Mary, we pray today for all mothers who are afraid to be mothers. We pray for those who feel threatened and overwhelmed by their pregnancy. Intercede for them, that God may give them the grace to say yes and the courage to go on. May they have the grace to reject the false solution of abortion. May they say with you, "Be it done unto me according to your word." May they experience the help of Christian people and know the peace that comes from doing God's will. Amen.

Divine Mercy for the Unborn

For all helpless little children who die in the womb of their mother, I pray that all of these little souls will be given eternal life by Our Lord, Jesus Christ, through His Divine Mercy and I beg Jesus that I be allowed to spiritually baptize a little soul born dead and I do so by saying: I baptize you (Give name, preferably a Saint’s Name) in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…’ I have called you by your name, you are Mine!’ (Is. 43:1)

For a culture of Life in our nation and world: 

Lord, please bless the efforts of everyone in this nation and the world who is working to build a culture of life. Bless the pregnancy centers and other programs that reach out to women, the pastors who preach the gospel of life to their congregations, the lawyers and judges who work in the legal system to defend the cause of life, and the elected representatives that work to promote laws that respect life. Help all in government service to understand and accept the truth that abortion is wrong and harmful to all involved, and work for the benefit of all, to eliminate abortion across our nation. Help those in other nations, particularly those who live with government pressure to abort, or a society where abortion is nearly universally accepted, to have the courage and grace to continue to work toward a culture of life. Help each of us to discern how you are calling us to contribute to this work. Help us to be faithful in prayer for greater respect for human life in all its stages. Have mercy on all those who work to promote abortion and eliminate restrictions. Change their hearts to accept the truth of the evil of abortion, and to abandon any selfish reasons they may have to promote it. While we know that you will respect the free will that you have given them, we also acknowledge the ultimate victory of Christ over all sin and death. We ask for that victory to permeate our world and bring about a culture of life.

PRAYER FOR OUR NATION 

God Our Father, giver of life, we entrust the United States of America to Your loving care. You are the rock on which this nation was founded. You alone are the true source of our cherished rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Reclaim this land for Your glory and dwell among Your people. Send Your Spirit to touch the hearts of our nation’s leaders. Open their minds to the great worth of human life and the responsibilities that accompany human freedom. Remind Your people that true happiness is rooted in seeking and doing Your will. Through the intercession of Mary Immaculate, Patroness of our land, grant us the courage to reject the culture of death. Lead us into a new millennium of life. We ask this through Christ Our Lord. Amen

INTERCESSIONS: 

Today, Lord, we invoke your intercession for the pro-life movement. We pray that all will look upon human life as a great gift from God and be accepted and loved, not an unwanted burden to be destroyed. We intercede for assistance from Heaven for the efforts of those on earth who have enlisted in the crusade of promoting the dignity and value of all human life, in particular the unborn. This we ask through Christ, Our Lord. Amen. 

That all doctors and nurses will have the courage to refuse to assist in abortions, we pray to the Lord. 

1. Lord, we beg you to hear our prayer. 

That all doctors will be kept from the temptation to profit by killing unborn children, we pray to the Lord. 

1. Lord, we beg you to hear our prayer. 

That doctors and nurses may remember the lesson of Nuremburg — that killing can never be justified as a medical procedure and that there is no privilege to participate in an atrocity. For this we pray to the Lord. 

1. Lord, we beg you to hear our prayer. 

That Those who escort mothers to have their children killed will be given the wisdom to see that their support of abortion results in the violation and degradation of women and mothers, we pray to the Lord. 

1. Lord, we beg you to hear our prayer

PRAYER INTENTIONS: 

We offer up this prayer for an end to abortion in our country and throughout the world. 

We pray for women everywhere who are pregnant and contemplating abortion that they will get the support needed in order to bring their babies to term. 

We pray for all those involved in the abortion industry, that their hearts will be touched by the truth and they will come to respect all human life, born and unborn. 

We pray for all involved in past abortions that they will be able to be healed from this terrible atrocity. We pray for our President and all political leaders that they will understand their duty is to defend life. We pray for all those involved in the pro-life movement, that they will never become discouraged, and will remember that all things ultimately rest in Your hands

A ROSARY FOR LIFE 

LUMINOUS MYSTERIES

First Luminous Mystery: Christ is Baptized in the Jordan

When Jesus is baptized, the Father’s voice is heard: “This is my beloved Son.” All are called to become adopted sons and daughters of God through baptism. We pray that children in the womb may be protected, so they may be born and welcomed into the Christian community by baptism.

Second Luminous Mystery: Christ is Made Known at the Wedding of Cana

Jesus revealed His glory by the miracle at Cana. The new couple was blessed not only with wine, but with faith in Christ. Let us pray for strong marriages, rooted in the Lord and open to the gift of new life.

Third Luminous Mystery: Christ proclaims the Kingdom and Calls All to Conversion 

“Repent and believe the Good News.” Let us pray that these first words of Jesus’ public ministry may be heard by all who have committed abortion. May they know the Lord calls them to conversion, and may they experience life-giving repentance.

Fourth Luminous Mystery: The Transfiguration

Christ is transformed on the mountain and the disciples see His glory. May the eyes of all people be transformed, that they may see each and every human life as a reflection of the glory of God himself.  

Fifth Luminous Mystery: Jesus Gives us the Eucharist

“This is My Body, given up for you.” The Eucharist teaches us how to live and how to love. Let us pray that parents who sacrifice their babies for the sake of themselves may learn instead to put themselves aside for the sake of their babes.

A Prayer for Men

Creator God, we pray for men; those whom you have created to share in the conception of life and share in the responsibility of raising children.

We ask that you help them be all that you have created them to be. Help them to see themselves as whole persons, so that they can help their partners and their children be themselves as well. Help them to be present to their families if they’ve been too long absent. Help them to speak out against injustice where they’ve been silent; help them to be understanding and supportive of the pro-choice decisions of their sisters, mothers, wives, and female friends.

But most of all God, give them the love and tenderness they need to be loving and faithful partners. May they welcome the opportunity to be supportive of the children they help bring into this world. Give them courage and strength to live according to your guidance and wisdom always.  Amen

A Prayer by Julia Nelson:

Dear Father in heaven,

Lord, we come to you today with aching hearts because there are children being aborted all around the world.

Those who are pro-choice argue that the woman has bodily autonomy over the unborn baby’s life, and therefore she has the right to do with her body as she pleases. But, God, what they don’t realize is that there’s another life involved here. There’s a tiny human baby growing and developing in his mother’s womb from the day of conception, so that one day, he will make his entrance into the world. We know that this little life is a gift from you.

Abortions are tragic, horrifying, and devastating. It’s a tiny human life being sucked from his mother’s womb. The baby can’t cry out to his parents for help because the ones whom you appointed to protect their children and help them grow are the ones giving doctors permission to poison their child, pull him limb from limb from his mother’s womb, and throw him away in the trash—literally.

Father, it horrifies us that abortion is legal, and that it is considered a woman’s right to kill the life within her. It makes us very angry and upset, and it should.

But we don’t know the woman’s situation or how she got pregnant. It might or might not have been her choice. Our hearts break at the suffering some women have experienced in our broken, sinful world. It’s not supposed to be this way, and we ache at their pain. But either way, we know that it does not give her the right to end her pregnancy. The precious, priceless human life that she is carrying is completely innocent.

Lord, you’ve seen that in the privacy of our own homes, we can get very passionate and angry about this subject. But when we pause and really think about the heart of the situation, we are no longer angry, but heartbroken and left wanting to do something to help these women see the truth.

In the end, we know that no matter how hard we might plead with people to change their minds about abortion, only you can change their hearts.

That’s why we want to earnestly pray for those who feel that abortion is the only answer to their situation.

Today, Father, and in the days to come, we want to pray for these women in three specific ways, and we hope many others will join us.

1. We Pray that Their Eyes Will Be Opened

Father, women who have abortions sometimes don’t understand what they’re “getting rid of.” They’ve been told that it’s just a clump of cells growing in their womb. They might have been told that the “thing” they are carrying won’t feel anything during the abortion, so there’s no harm done.

Where I live, there is an organization that offers free ultrasounds to pregnant women. I remember hearing a story on the radio about a similar ultrasound visit.

A pregnant woman was having an ultrasound while her boyfriend sat behind her, completely uninterested.

Then, he looked up at the screen and saw the baby open and close his or her hand. The young man looked down at his own hand, opened, and closed it. Then he looked up at his girlfriend. “We can’t kill our baby,” he said.

This story touched my heart, and it has left me aching to do something to help couples like these. Lord, we’re so grateful for organizations who are able to help men and women see their babies before deciding to have an abortion.

Father, we earnestly pray that those who are considering abortion will see the light and realize that they have been lied to. We pray that they will recognize that they are carrying a precious human life. We pray that they will learn the truth and refuse to have an abortion.

2. We Pray that They Will Have the Strength to Keep Their Babies

Lord, some women are in situations where they feel trapped. Unless they have this abortion, their boyfriends will leave them. Family and friends also encourage or pressure them into having an abortion.

Please help us to remember, God, that these women are very often deceived. They’re lied to and pressured by boyfriends, family, friends, our culture, and the media. We can’t imagine the pain and anxiety they experience, and we acknowledge that the choice of life is often a very hard one—but always the right one.

Father, we pray that these women will have the strength to keep their babies. Going against the crowd—especially against family and friends—is so hard. And if the woman’s boyfriend or family threatens to leave her and the baby by themselves, she might need help financially, physically, mentally, and emotionally. These women might fear being single mothers with little children and no one to support them.

God, we pray that these women will find support for them and for their babies. If, in the end, these mothers determine that they are truly in no position to raise a child, we pray that they will realize that there are alternatives to abortion, such as putting the child up for adoption. There are many couples who, for various reasons, have a strong desire to adopt and provide a loving and nurturing home for these children who have just as much value and potential as any other child.

3. We Pray that They Will Find Hope and Healing in Jesus Christ

Father, there are many women who have had an abortion and have deeply regretted their decision. They live with tremendous guilt, and perhaps they don’t know where to turn next or whether they can ever be forgiven.

Lord, you are a forgiving God. You sent your Son, Jesus Christ, to die a terrible death so that each of us might find forgiveness and spend eternal life with you forever.

You want to forgive these repentant women, Father. In fact, you want to forgive all of us for our sins. You don’t want us to come to you when we’re perfect—that will never happen, for your Word declares that all have sinned against you. Instead, you want us to come just as we are—broken, sinful, hopeless—because we can find forgiveness and an everlasting hope in Christ our Savior.

We pray that these women, those who are either considering an abortion, or those who have had one in the past, will find this wonderful hope and healing in Jesus Christ, your Son. May they experience the grace of your forgiveness and the freedom of your love.

Father, We Know You Have, You Can, and You Will Change Hearts

Lord, thank you that we can come to you today in prayer. We want to remember these women and unborn children who need our prayers. We want to pray for them faithfully.

Father, today, we lift up to you the unborn children in their mothers’ wombs. Many of them will soon be born into this world. They will be able to see their parents’ faces. They will be able to grow up and become a man or a woman someday.

But, Lord, there are many, many unborn children who won’t even live to see the day of their birth.

For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well (Psalm 139:13-14).

Lord, just as the psalmist David writes, every baby is “fearfully and wonderfully made.” Every baby is special, precious, and priceless. You knew every part of the baby before he was even conceived—for you created him.

Help these women to see the truth, Father. Open their eyes. Give them the strength to keep their babies, and show us how we may help them and walk beside them. Please give us the strength and means to offer practical help as we reach out to them and share your love with them. We pray that they will realize that we do not hate or condemn them, but rather love them too much to stay silent.