Post by Pat Layton
If my “Prayer Chair” could talk it might tell you some pretty soapy secrets about my life. It’s true isn’t it? If you are like me, a look back at my prayer journal reveals the real condition of my heart on any given day, during any given season. Psalms 139 says that God knows everything about us anyway. He not only knows the heart condition, He even knows the overflow of the heart–the words we are going to speak before we speak them. God knows our secrets and He sometimes calls us to share them for the life of another.
Sharing my most shameful life secret is part of the ministry of “testimony” God has called me into through my Lifeway Bible Study “Surrendering the Secret”. Over the past 3 years God has opened doors for me to share with hundreds of churches across the US and thousands of women who carry the heartbreak of a past abortion.
I was recently asked to help verify a few of the often-quoted statistics about abortion:
43% of American women of childbearing age have experienced an abortion
Nearly ½ of all pregnancies are “unplanned” and 4 out of 10 end in abortion.
Since abortion was legalized and estimated 55 million lives have been lost.
The statistics are difficult to prove since the main organizations following abortion are those whose goal is to justify it’s legality.
A few mornings ago I read Genesis 18 and 19 where Abraham is pleading before God for the protection of the few righteous men and women living in Sodom and Gomorrah, specifically his own family. I was reminded of my search and my prayers asking God to reveal the truth about how many women, and men, are being held in bondage over this devastating lie about freedom and choice.
Are you aware of how many family and friends around you who are hiding the secret heartbreak and shame of a past abortion?
Are there a Hundred? Fifty? Twenty? Ten? One?
Regardless of statistics, my question is much like Abraham’s…Does it really matter if there are millions, which I fully believe there are, or would it be worth our ministry and prayers, if it was just one? One woman who on one very tragic day, made one very tragic decision to have her own son or daughter ripped from her life thereby stepping into a dark pit of secrecy and shame that she would always feel she deserved until someone came along to tell her about God’s immeasurable grace and unfailing love.
Would you do it for one?
If so, I will be offering a Post Abortion Recovery Leadership Training January 22, 2011 in Eagle River, AK. I would love to tell you how.
Contact me about how you can come for free!
patlayton@mac.com
We are currently establishing our Surrendering the Secret Certified Leader Training schedule for 2011 as well as “Imagine Me, Set Free” Women’s Conference Dates.
www.surrenderingthesecret.com
COMING SOON: FREE Webcast
Lifeway Women Live: Surrendering the Secret
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
@ 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM (Central Time)