40 Days for Life is a community-based campaign that draws attention to the evil of abortion through the use of a three-point program: Prayer and fasting Constant vigil Community outreach

40 Days for Life takes a determined, peaceful approach to showing local communities the consequences of abortion in their own neighborhoods, 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 Canada, America, and the world.

The 40-day campaign tracks 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.

 

Vision and mission

40 Days for Life is a focused pro-life campaign with a vision to access God’s power through prayer, fasting, and peaceful vigil to end abortion in Canada, America, and the world.

The mission of the campaign is to bring together the body of Christ in a spirit of unity during a focused 40 day campaign of prayer, fasting, and peaceful activism, with the purpose of repentance, to seek God’s favor to turn hearts and minds from a culture of death to a culture of life, thus bringing an end to abortion in Canada, America, and the world.

 

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 separates you from God.

 

Constant vigil:

 

The most visible component of 40 Days for Life is a constant prayer vigil outside a place where children are aborted. It is the hope that the vigil can be maintained 24 hours a day, seven days a week. (The Montreal vigil will be 12 hours per day, from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week).

It is a 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 focused, grassroots educational efforts. People are given the opportunity to visibly show their support for 40 Days for Life.

A door-to-door petition and education drive reaches out. Informational flyers raise awareness about abortion. This outreach can include church involvement, media contact and campus outreach.

There have now been four coordinated 40 Days for Life campaigns. In the fall of 2007, the spring of 2008, the fall of 2008 and the spring of 2009, these efforts have mobilized people of faith and conscience in 240 cities across all 50 of the United States, five Canadian provinces, plus locations in Northern Ireland and Australia.

During these unified efforts, participants witnessed countless blessings from God:

• Over 200,000 have joined together in an historic display of unity to pray and fast for an end to abortion
• More than 70,000 people have taken to the streets, forming peaceful 40-day prayer vigils outside of Planned Parenthood centers and abortion facilities
• Reports document 1,561 lives that have been spared from abortion — and those are just the ones we know about
• Eighteen abortion workers have quit their jobs and walked away from the abortion industry
• Three abortion facilities completely shut down following local 40 Days for Life campaigns
• Hundreds of women and men have been spared from the tragic effects of abortion, including a lifetime of regrets
• More than 400 news stories have been featured in newspapers, magazines, radio shows and TV programs from coast to coast ... and overseas
• Many people with past abortion experiences have stepped forward to begin post-abortion healing and recovery

40 Days for Life in Collegeville, Pennsylvania.

After so many years of legalized abortion, many people of faith are experiencing a renewed sense of HOPE!

The most recent coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted in 137 communities — 129 in the United States, five in Canada, two in Northern Ireland and one in Australia. In all, more than 41,000 people participated — and 433 lives were spared from abortion.

 

From the beginning

The first 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted in Bryan/College Station, Texas in the fall of 2004. A local pro-life group prayed for an answer about how to reduce abortion in their area, and the answer God gave them was 40 Days for Life. The campaign was put together in a matter of weeks, yet it activated 1,000 people and led directly to a 28 percent decline in abortions in that community.

 

An idea catches on

News of the victory that God led in Texas spread to other communities, and in 2005 and 2006 a half dozen other cities conducted their own 40 Days for Life campaigns. Each program was geared to the specific region, but each reported positive results. For some, it was learning that clinics closed altogether or cut their operating hours. Other cities found an outpouring of women seeking post-abortion healing ... [more]

 

40 Days for Life goes coast to coast

The first national 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted in the fall of 2007, with more than 80 cities in more than 30 states participating in a simultaneous outreach from September 26 through November 4. People who had never been involved in pro-life activities came forward to answer the call. Lives were saved, hearts were changed and people are seeing that prayer indeed can make a difference in the quest to end abortion ... [more]

 

More cities inspired to take part

A second national 40 Days for Life campaign was conducted in more than 50 cities in more than 30 states from February 6 through March 16. This campaign coincided with the Christian season of Lent, and brought renewed attention to the damage caused by abortion in our individual towns and communities ... [more]

 

Looking to the future

With prayerful hearts, we will be going forward with our next national, coordinated 40 Days for Life campaign.

Please sign up for 40 Days for Life updates (see the form at top right) to see how you can take part in the ambitious plans God has put before us. Also, please continue to join us in praying and fasting for an end to abortion, for conversion of those involved in the abortion industry and for healing for the many who are hurting after abortion.

• 40 days of prayer and fasting
• 40 days of peaceful vigil
• 40 days of community outreach

 

Montreal 40 Days for Life -- WRAP-UP!

April 6, 2009
It's hard to gauge the effect this 40 Days will have on the city of Montreal and the province of Quebec. One thing's for sure: I know something big is happening.   More »