
revival”—became the anthem of a huge crowd gathered on the National Mall Aug. 16
where roughly 70,000 people chanted the phrase during 12 hours of worship,
fasting, repentance and prayer.
into the national elections,” said Lou Engle, who founded TheCall eight years
ago to make the issue of abortion a justice issue. “I believe we are at a
breakthrough moment to release life to our nation.”
estimated 70,000 people gathered in Washington to pray, California pastor Rick
Warren brought the abortion debate to the forefront during a civil forum he
hosted at his Saddleback Church with presidential candidates John McCain and
Barack Obama. The convergence of TheCall with Warren’s forum focused national
media attention on the issue.
Luther King Jr., likened the battle for ending abortion to the civil rights
struggle of 1963. She brought to remembrance the impact of a similar August
gathering on the Mall 45 years ago, when America was galvanized by her uncle’s
“I Have a Dream” speech. King noted that what had seemed impossible became a
reality soon afterward.
an African-American pastor and founder of the
High Impact Leadership Coalition from the metro D.C. area, said that believers
in this hour have the same call that King did to change the course of
America.
generation, but He’s got to have somebody who will create the justice,” Jackson
told the crowd. “Today, this mantle is available to you.”
U.S. history. The first Call rally was held in Washington, D.C., in September
2000, during the final months of the hotly contested presidential race between
George W. Bush and Al Gore.
terrorist strikes in New York City and Washington D.C.
national repentance with fasting and prayer represent the most inexpensive and
effective form of homeland security,” said Mike Bickle, senior leader of the
International House of Prayer in Kansas City, Mo. “Mercy triumphs over
judgment.”
abortion and other societal sins did not lie with political leaders, but with
those who claim to know God. Former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee began
the prayer rally by directing attention to the Capitol. “Repentance and revival
cannot start in the building behind me,” he declared, “until it starts in the
temple inside me.”
Chronicles 7:14 places the responsibility for healing on God’s own people, not
on secular government. “Leadership starts with us,” he said, “with our own
hearts being broken for broken people.”
Revive Israel Ministries, agreed. “What America needs most is a turn from
immorality and humanism,” he said. “With 70,000 people praying and fasting, I
believe we can affect the government and we can affect the nation.”
prayer. Before Mahan was born, her mother, Nayomini Greaves, visited a crisis pregnancy center thinking she had entered an abortion clinic. Counseling from the
center and a call from her “prayer warrior” brother helped convince her mother
to keep her baby.
assistance of a local church, she and her newborn flourished.
the loud chorus of “end abortion, send revival.” She also prayed that God would
give others an experience similar to the one that saved her daughter’s life.
“Lord, steer cars away from abortion clinics,” she prayed. “Turn them around,
and redirect their path.
on your life, and when a community of love stands behind you,”
Greaves declared. —Jon Hamill
in Washington, D.C.