This scripture just gets bigger and bigger as it progresses.  First we are considering those who are imprisoned, on death row, being set free by God who sees from on high.  They are to declare His goodness in Zion, in Jerusalem.  This can happen when people gather together.

But there is more.  Not only are people gathering together . . . but kingdoms.  This expands the blessing beyond a city and reaches out to kingdoms.  There have been many kingdoms on Earth over the time of recorded history.  But any way they are considered, kingdoms are ruled-over areas where people live.  Kingdoms are made up of cities and the people in them.   

God’s goodness is to spread and to cover over kingdoms wherein people will declare His goodness.  This could in theory cover the entire Earth!  And it will.  At the appointed time, in God’s timing, the entire Earth will praise Him. 

And this goodness is to be extolled through the record of those in the past who have loved God and praised Him.  Their passing it down, and down, and on through generations, will accomplish this.  What a responsibility any current generation has to make certain this gets done!

Lord, there is a generation yet unborn in the wombs of mothers right at this very moment.  This is a generation that needs to hear the Good News of you and from You.  But, Lord, many are threatened to lose their lives to the abortionists’ tools.  Help us, Lord, to stand for them and to make certain every person in any generation will have the right to life, the right to live, that is surely the most fundamental right of all.

Topics:  Pray for the Holy Spirit’s power to pass on the goodness of God to future generations in a multitude of ways, but ways that are effective.  Pray for abortions to be stopped so that every conceived child will be able to hear and then pass it along to other future generations.
God’s purpose for our nation

God sets free those prisoners who were doomed to die. 

And why does He set them free?  So that the released ones may tell everyone in Zion about it, declaring His name!  They will declare His praise in Jerusalem! 

Those who are set free are going to get together and praise Him.  If the captives who were set free would not do this, then neither that generation nor any to come would know this wonderful setting-free by our great God.  In Romans 10:14, the Darby Bible translation puts it this way:  “How then shall they call upon him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe on him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without one who preaches?”

Those who just sincerely send forward information on the great deeds of God may not be called preachers; but are they not?  The least of prisoners set free, when telling of his release, is preaching, advocating for God. 

Lord, we want to understand all of this, how You are involved in our lives and love doing things such as setting free the doomed.  We thank You so much for caring about our situation here on Earth and entering in at times of great need.  Please, Lord, enter into the wombs of pregnant moms and bring forth their children, those today who are of the “generation to come” and let them be born to praise You:  and to tell future generations about you, so to praise. 

Topics:  Pray for wisdom on how to best make certain that babies are born into the world in order for them, and generations after, to praise You!
Countries considering pro-abortion legislation

There is a lot said in this scripture!  The psalmist says that these words are to be recorded for a future, yet unborn, generation.  That generation will be prompted to praise God because of the words written here!  Talk about slow forward!  (We all know about the fast-forward technique on videos; but forwarding a generation takes time!)  And there are lots of things to pass forward as seen here.

We’re told that God looked down from his “holy height” from Heaven and saw the Earth.  While observing, he heard prisoners groaning. Not only did he hear, but he set free those headed for the doom of death.  Future generations are to know about this, about this God who sets free.  There is no person on Earth who does not need to be set free from something in life.  Future generations need to know about our God Who takes care of this.

The fact that He hears our groaning is significant.  And he does something about what he hears.  Here is not a God who made a creation and then left it to fend for itself.  No, even from His vantage point on high, He watches us and enters into our human situation.  He is a loving God who displays this interest toward us and wants us to let future persons know.

Lord, thank You that You see from Heaven and care about us and rescue us.  We love that about you, God, and we want to commit to passing this on to future people you will create.  We especially want to commit to passing this on to those who are still in their mothers’ wombs, that they may be born to hear this good news of God.

Topics:  Pray for wisdom on how to pass the blessings of God on to future generations.
All of our mayors to believe pro-LIFE

Pray as you are led directly from God or from postings on prolifeunity.com and the Prayer Pivot for Life.  Choose as led, any or all topics, events, groups, organizations, states, Pro-Life Action Calls, Prayer Action Calls, Peter and Patrizia Shinn and more.  With information about what is going on “out there,” we can pray more knowledgeably and with focus.  God hears from Heaven.  He moves valiantly in Heaven and on Earth.

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  RSV
[Scripture quotations are from] Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.  (Read this scripture and more at http://prayerpivot.com).

It was spoken of as I was leaving, tonight.  The mother of the high-school graduate, this mother whom we have known since she was in elementary school, commented on how fun it is to see the generations-effect on life, the coming and going and achieving that each generation fosters.  It is, yes, fun, and pretty neat, the way in which it works.

Who doesn’t remember their high-school graduation week, with all the festivities, ceremony, and high feelings?  And, usually, there are generations in attendance to many of the events.  Who has not sat through a graduation ceremony for several hundred because a granddaughter or godson was graduating, the only known youth out of hundreds? But we do it.  Generations do it for the next generations.

We get together; reminisce; eat; hug; pat shoulders; laugh; and glance at time going by, if rather askance and unpondered at the moment.  But, as we leave, or as we go back to our lives lived for decades after our own graduation, we surely must reflect on have-been, as-is, and will-be.  Yes, generations pass down the traditions and ceremonies to one another, one by one.  And, 18 years may seem a lot of time between the generational graduations.  But growing up is completely accomplished within each!  That takes . . . well . . . about 18 years!  (Maturity is not completely accomplished, but the processes of growing up – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual are to the “adult” stage now.)  Mature or not, we all look forward to the freedom of adulthood.

This scripture speaks of scripture being written for the next generation.  This makes sense:  God, who came up with the generations idea, speaks to us and tells us that He cares for each generation.  Aren’t youth centers at churches all about this?  No sophomore in high school completely plans and constructs their new center.  Adults do that, passing on Christ to those coming behind.

Lord, we thank you that you are so specific in your Word about caring for the generations as You do.  Help us to do the same.  And by standing for created LIFE, we hope to assure that there will be many more generations on and on, including those saved from death in the womb because of a pro-life prayer warrior on the sidewalk.

Topics:  Pray for wisdom to support pro-life measures to ensure as many people as are conceived will be numbered in their generation because they are not aborted.
Community leaders to lean toward pro-LIFE.   

Let’s come up with a poetic way to describe our souls’ marching with might.

Lord, help us learn to march, left foot right foot, left.
Help us with our souls to march . . .  left foot, right foot, left.

As we march Your perfect right, we’ve strength for every fight. 
The battle strong reflects Your light. Our souls go onward, left foot right.

The might we carry comes from you; Night or day alright, we say—
We will not shirk the weight it brings, its power on the way.

Our souls do stand against a tide of deathly thoughts . . . of wrong –
But with the might your Word can bring, we march, and march on strong.

Against new tides, we march the same, left foot right, in sight.
Your Word our strength; our souls march on.  For LIFE, our greatest right.

Topics:  Pray for strength to march on for LIFE, left foot, right . ..
Community Impact teams in churches

How do we “march on . . . with might” in our souls?  We can’t even see our souls, so how do they “march on”?  But then we know that things-invisible are often the most important or of great use to God.  For instance, love.  We can’t “see” love, but we see the great effects of it and from it. 

The same for hope, for faith.  Draw me a picture of faith, and it will end up being a picture of someone in a posture that represents trust or belief, such as often combines with images portraying hope.  One such portrait might possibly be of a person walking along but holding the hand of Jesus.  But to draw “faith” or hope without a person in the drawing . . . who can do it?  Interestingly, our souls definitely have to do with our individual persons, though unseen.

One of the greatest ways (if not the greatest) that our soul marches on is through strength from scripture.  Reading and/or memorizing Bible passages just brings us strength to our souls.  We know that the Word of God is powerful (Heb. 4:12).  Standing on the Word of God gives us a strengthened foundation like no other. 

Our souls march on through determination also.  Paul talks about completing the race, (II Tim. 4:7).  This takes determination.  We run (march) right up to that finish line.  If we are in a marching army, we determine to complete the route no matter how tired we become.

Our souls marching on should bring the sound of boot-steps clomping.  Picture our marching outfit:  uniform, battle equipment, and . . . courage.  It is the courage that often carries on in battle, physically actual or spiritually so, the courage to take that next step that keeps us marching on.

Lord, we know our souls must march for you.  We want to be strong like Deborah, if not a prophet and leader, but still, just for You.  Let us rally to her rallying exclamation of marching on, our souls marching.  Marching.  And for us pro-life folks, help us march right up to our opposition with strength, yes, with might.  Might for right.

Topics:  Pray for wisdom on how to march with might in the fight against created life.
Churches around the world to be strong for LIFE    

When the prophetess Deborah was leading Israel, God’s leading through her leadership brought victory to the Israelites against Jabin the king of Canaan.  Then Deborah wrote a song celebrating this victory, called “The Song of Deborah.”  This scripture is taken from her song.  The Kishon is a river in Israel. 

Deborah tells how the enemy were swept away in the torrent of the river.  The victory was decisive.  The army of the enemy was no more.

But notice the words after this:  “March on, my soul, with might!”  Yes, march on, soul . . . with great strength.  Yes, a great victory has been accomplished; but now is not a time to rest.  Yes, you, my soul, says Deborah must march on. 

What a rallying cry.  Yes, we have a victory.  But do we sit around and celebrate and pat ourselves on the back.  Telling one’s soul to march on hardly seems support for back-patting.  No, it seems just the opposite:  One victory is had.  Let’s keep marching unto the next one.

Perhaps we all could take a lesson from Deborah.  Do our best; let God lead us on; but never consider the battlefields all conquered forever.  No, we must push on.  We must tell ourselves, our souls, to keep up the good fight.  Take on the enemies as they come our way.

Lord, help us to do this.  It’s so easy, once any certain victory has been won, to want to rest.  Let us, Lord, remember that You will continue to work in us Your victories if we but allow you, pushing on.  With might.  In the battles waged for LIFE issues, we must march on.  With might.

Topics:  Pray for pro-lifers to not want to rest on laurels but to push on with our soul’s might, as God directs.
The United States Army to be pro-life
 

If God gives us birth, how can we go against it?  If He is the author of life (and He is), how can we take into our own hands the created LIFE coming straight from Him?  But we do.

It seems that on Earth, many not only forget God who gives us birth; they do even worse:  killing in the womb those to whom God would give birth.  Our first “birth-day” is our most important birthday, of course.  It’s different from all other “birthdays” because without it there would be no additional birth days.  When we have a birthday party, we are celebrating the anniversary of our birth day (date) of course.  Without that first day of birth?  No parties.  No one to celebrate.

God does not want us to go without birthdays . . . or celebrations of that day.  No, we aren’t required to have a party for anyone, but we enjoy doing it because seasons have passed again and another year has been lived.  We like to live! 

But so do those babies in the womb.  If they could speak, they would want to live and would want to celebrate Earthly birthdays.  We must help them.

We must stand for them.  We must ourselves remember God who gave us our own birth; and we must remember and stand for those who have not yet entered our world of birthday parties, that they may be allowed to.  That first iced birthday cake smeared all over face, hands and hair . . . what a memory!  Think of all the joy in the world that is snuffed out and cut out of LIFE because of abortion.  It is the greatest form of forgetting the God Who gave us birth.

Lord, help us in our own lives to remember You Who created us, Who gave us our birth.  And help us to, because of remembering, be able to pass on to others the joy of LIFE because You created us.  Help us not to forget . . . and not to forget others and their lives so important to you, especially the preborn.

Topics:  Pray that we will never, never forget the God Who gave us birth – and that we will never forget our responsibility to stand up for this our God and His creative powers. 
The United States Air Force to have pro-life policies

Pray as you are led directly from God or from postings on prolifeunity.com and the Prayer Pivot for Life.  Choose as led, any or all topics, events, groups, organizations, states, Pro-Life Action Calls, Prayer Action Calls, Peter and Patrizia Shinn and more.  With information about what is going on “out there,” we can pray more knowledgeably and with focus.  God hears from Heaven.  He moves valiantly in Heaven and on Earth.

2 Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”  RSV
[Scripture quotations are from] Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.  (Read this scripture and more at http://prayerpivot.com).

Many students of the Bible agree that the Rock mentioned here is none other than God Himself.  He is called the Rock many times in the Bible, indicating strength and strong underpinnings.  Rocks give us a good foundation.  In wars, many rocks rendered cities less penetrable. 

God, the Rock, Moses says here, became the Father of the Israelites to whom Moses pens these words.  Yes, God is the Father of every Israelite born as well as father to every person born, ever.  Without God, who would be here?  No one.  And Who has existed on His own with need of no one?  God.

Surely we will not forget Him.  But we do.  We go about our work, our days, planning, deciding, doing . . . all on our little own.  God gave us the ability to be caught up in the activities of this life; this does not mean that they are all unworthy.  But He also gave us the ability of discernment:  we are to use it to bring ourselves to the realization that we really cannot apply discernment “all on our little own.”  No, No way on that.

Why do the Israelites struggle so with remembering God?  Seems they liked to go on their own, just like the every single “rest of us” do to this very day and moment.  Right now maybe I’d rather stop typing and read a book.  Maybe right now you would rather put down this devotion you’re reading and go outside.  Every moment is a choice, and most of the time we love what we choose to do . . . love having the choice.

But when we choose to ignore or forget that God is in our lives, we can get into trouble.  The Israelites did this over and over.  And yet God would forgive them and strengthen them after they repented and called on Him once again.               

Wouldn’t it be better to just remember Him?  Yes, we choose to remember.  And if we do that . . . remember we will.  Lord, help us to not forget Your Presence in our lives.  We hope we will always choose You and remember that You guide us – and that this comes through in our ministries.  Help us not to forget you as we go about the business of defending the LIFE that You created in each of us and in each baby in the womb.

Topics:  Pray for the choices you make every day, to include remembering God as the biggest and most important of all.
Employees of all abortionists – to change jobs

This scripture is taken from the song of Moses to the congregation of Israelites.  The song is both literally honest and forthright, and Moses does not mince words about the behaviors of his fellow Israelites.  But it also is a praise to God for His faithfulness in the face of their unfaithfulness … or we might say in all the faces of their unfaithfulness.  This verse may be apropos in the pro-life cause.  We may become unmindful of God who made us, forgetting Him who is our father.  How many times must this happen in the arena of abortions or euthanasia or more?
Each human being on Earth has a father, an earthly one but also a heavenly one.  It is the heavenly one who initiated the creation of every human on Earth.  And yet we may become unmindful of Him?  Yes, sorry to say, we creations of His may have difficulty remembering our true origins.

We all are unmindful of God at times because we are not perfect.  He made us to be able to become un-perfect because He enabled us to make choices in life, the biggest choice being to follow Him.  But to follow God means we must acknowledge Him and not forget him.  We must pay Him mind!  He created our forms!  Remember Him.

As we go about our ministries in service to promote policies for LIFE on Earth, it would not be a good thing to forget about God.  He has plans for us; He made you, me, and every baby in wombs that are being marched into abortion places.  Lord, remember those babies and their mothers!  Do not let them forget You.  Do not let them be unmindful of Your presence in the world, in the universe. 

Lord, we pray for those who stand outside abortion clinics and pray for the babies and their mothers and fathers.  May these faithful pray-ers be ever mindful of You, never forgetting Your hand in the creation of both themselves and the preborn babies whose lives are on the line.  May those who pray have a special comfort or closeness from You.  And may the women heading toward those deadly doors have something from You, Lord, some touch or thought that will help them turn and hurry back the way they came, never setting foot inside.  Please.

And thank you for every mother anywhere who has turned and saved her baby.

Topics:  Pray for those who pray outside abortion clinics for a special blessing from God and for a special touch for the mothers who would go inside.
Abortionists – that many will get out of their horrid business and bring good to our Earth

Sometimes it’s not easy, being a kid and growing one’s self up.  As babies and preschoolers we may think children have it so easy; and indeed, they are not saddled with responsibilities beyond themselves at these young ages and stages of life.  Even grade-school children do not take on the mantle of work that adults must throw on; and they are not responsible for providing for others as their parents are.

But, on the other hand, there is great brain and muscle activity even in babyhood.  Babies’ brains are growing at warp speed.  We could never count the cells as they multiply and multiply and multiply – and each one is doing its assigned task as assigned by the Creator.  Incredible.  Yes, truly non-understandable.  Think how many muscles it takes to learn to walk, underdeveloped muscles at birth but which somehow strengthen and soon carry a small toddering body across the room and back.

Of course, babies do not work at this growth by huffing and puffing; it’s planned by God and happens according to each child’s schedule of growth.  But later, there comes along the capability to develop one’s body by choice.  This can be noticed by grade-schoolers who participate in sports.  A girls’ softball team is enhanced by the efforts of individual girls to develop their muscles for running or catching or pitching a ball.  This level of “youth,” not to be despised by adults, is a training ground for skills in sports.  And it can be very hard work.

Softball teams practice.  Games are started and brought to a close.  Games may be won by the effort individual members put in outside of practices and games.

Youthfulness can be very impressive, particularly when seen in the results of sports events.  None of us may know the hours and hours spent in practicing toward perfection.  But it may show up in scores . . . and more importantly, in the development of body and attitude, not to be despised.

Lord, thank you for giving children and youth the bodies and skills to excel at tasks they choose, be it sports, music, art, or more.  Help us adults to appreciate all that kids contribute; and help us to make certain that babies conceived are born into this world of hard work and progress in youth.

Topics:  Pray for children, youth, young adults, to be able to work and grow and achieve toward their own chosen goals, through bodies created by God, and blessed by birth.
Youth pastors