Don't Hate, But Pray For Those Who Hate Pro-Life Convictions

Trevin Wax writes beautifully here.  

Trevin Wax:

In the never-ending battle over abortion, it’s easy to lose yourself in the heat of the moment and to feel a sense of disdain toward those who defend the “right” to take the life of an unborn child. But as Christians, we must not give in to the cultural tendency to denigrate and demonize people on the other side of the political aisle. 

How can we make a stand for the unborn and yet also love our political opponents? 

By praying for them by name. 

It is hard to hate someone you pray for. 

So, instead of raging against people you disagree with, people made in God’s image, pray:

• Pray for the day Wendy Davis’ pink sneakers will be what she wears at the annual March for Life.

• Pray for the day our president, who comes from a people long acquainted with the indignity of being treated as something less than human, will throw his support behind human rights for all.

• Pray for reporters like Sarah Kliff, that her passion for human life will one day outstrip her devotion to “reproductive health.”

• Pray for leaders like Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who out of political convenience have left behind their pro-life convictions. Pray that they will join with Alveda King and other African-American leaders to end the massacre of their people.

• Pray for Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood, that her eyes would be opened to the miracle unfolding in the womb. Pray for the day she leads her organization to never again earn a penny through stopping the heartbeat of a human child.

• Pray for the day Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL, joins forces with those who want to stop the war on women in the womb.

• Pray for Hillary Clinton, that she will come to realize the main reason why she refers to abortion as a “tragic choice.”

• Pray for the abortion-rights activists who berate and belittle those who speak up for the voiceless.

• Pray for the countless men and women in our country who are uncomfortable with the reality of abortion, but are unable to fully articulate why.

• Pray for pro-life Christians who remain silent, who unwittingly stand by as little humans beings are discarded in clinics within driving distance of their homes.

• Pray for Supreme Court justices like Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan to see the instability of the Roe decision and return the decision to the states.

• Pray for abortion providers, that God would prick the conscience of those who piece together the remains of unborn children every day.

• Pray that the abortion culture would unravel from the inside, as more and more “doctors” are rightly uncomfortable with stilling the heartbeats of other human beings.

• Most of all, pray that God would have mercy on us for treating the gift of life as an inconvenience.

Don’t hate. Pray.