The war on unborn babies is ramping up like never before. And if Christians aren’t careful to rely on God in winning this war, we will quickly lose sight of the spiritual intricacies of this battle and start fighting the way the world does.
Mere months ago, our nation began its most effective pro-life push since Roe V. Wade when numerous states like Alabama, Georgia and Ohio passed new abortion restrictions. But just as quickly as these laws took effect, pro-choice states like Illinois and Vermont responded with aggressive restrictions that would protect a woman’s easy access to abortion at all costs.
It’s 2019. We know a baby’s heartbeat can be detected as early as eight weeks into a pregnancy. We know women who undergo abortion suffer a myriad of after-effects, ranging from chronic nightmares to suicidal thoughts. We know every new code of DNA created when the sperm meets the egg is unique, unable to be copied.
Logical evidence won’t end the belief that babies aren’t valuable humans because we have plenty of that already, and people still want what they want, no matter what the sonograms show us about the viability and vivacity of small children in the womb.
By now, we should know that this isn’t a fight that will be won by science, reason or religion. This is spiritual warfare. In a literal sense, our war may be against flesh and blood, but in reality, we combat the “spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm” that are supporting this whole movement.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 warned us long ago that scientific developments, new laws or certain political figures would not be enough to win a battle like this: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
To demolish the argument that babies are not humans worth fighting for, we must fully engage in spiritual warfare, putting on the armor of God to ready us for the battle we face.
In my 20 years participating in the pro-life movement, I have found that abortion always comes down to pain. No one has ever jumped out of their car in a Planned Parenthood parking lot, proudly demanding an abortion. Rather, they are hurting and seeking a solution. The suffering that leads to abortion and makes those working in the industry perceive their jobs as fulfilling a righteous need proves that this is a spiritual matter.
We know that the devil comes only to “kill, steal and destroy” and nothing in history has killed as many people, stolen as much potential happiness and destroyed women and families as much as abortion has.
To defeat Satan’s most calculated, deceptive and long-form attack yet, we need spiritual stamina. We must seek strength not from within ourselves, but from the author of life.
We should not cast those supporting this evil as evil themselves because as 2 Corinthians shows us, this is a matter beyond human control. Instead, we should have the same mindset of nurses working in a hospital.
To effectively administer healing for the millions that this barbaric surgery has wounded, we cannot be spiritually lukewarm. St. Thomas Aquinas said that “Lukewarmness is a state of sadness, whereby a man becomes sluggish in the spiritual exercises because they weary the body.”
The more we rely on our own rhetoric, protests or politics to end abortion, the more quickly we will weary of fighting a war that was never going to be won by human brawn or brains.
Instead, we need to retire to our rooms, churches and communities to pray, fast and call on the mercy of God. When we do that, He will hear our prayer and heal our land.
Shawn Carney is the president/CEO of 40 Days for Life and the best selling author of The Beginning of the End of Abortion: 40 Inspiring Stories of God Changing Hearts and Saving Lives.
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