Dear Father in Heaven: A Prayer for Women Considering Abortion

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.