Last year (2007) I
heard Rob Harley say: “Never under-estimate the power of a decent interruption.”
I have had a decent interruption
to my life over this issue of abortion!
In the 1970s, when the abortion issue was debated about and protested over, and often in the forefront of the news,
I only had a casual interest. Recently when I read an account of those years, I remembered some of the
issues, but to be honest I was probably more interested in my own self, my little family of two, soon to be four, and life
within that context.
Having
given the subject little thought, or prayer, over the years since I have been a Christian in 1984, God ‘suddenly’
drew me in via my desire for revival of the church and transformation of the community. This had been sparked
during the 1990s by the Transformation videos put out by George Otis. The series featured communities that
had been transformed after a small group of people had begun to be burdened by the evil they saw and began to pray.
God’s abortion ‘hook’ was
thrown out at the Hamilton pastors and leaders meeting in 2003. Pastor Dennis McLeod said that he
believed the Lord had said there would not be revival in NZ until we dealt with the abortion issue.
There was no evidence that
anybody had heard.
But
I found myself asking the Lord why the abortion rate was so high in NZ, why was there such defilement in NZ?
This began a journey.
In every transformed community George Otis
had found four key issues: bloodshed on the land, broken covenants, immorality and idolatry. (Big
4 is the name I gave them.) My journey via books, NZ Wars video series, discussion, travel and prayer, looked at historical
issues in NZ around these four areas, these roots. They are roots of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good
and Evil. All these Big 4 play a part in abortion.
Abortion is part of the fruit of this tree.
Dealing with the roots will cause the crop,
the fruit, to fail. Conversely, dealing with the fruit will weaken the roots and make them easier to pull
out, so the whole tree dies.
A group
in Hamilton, (The Whistle Team), have prayed and fasted many times for the Big 4 over the last five years.
I believe we have laid the
foundation for the current 40 day season of prayer and fasting that God is now calling for Christians up and down this nation
to engage in.
Adrian Watts, (organiser of
the Solemn Assembly, Labour Weekend, 2007, in Wellington), said, “Every precious move of God over the last 30
years had been aborted. None has reached full term.” Suddenly, for me, the abortion
issue became tied in with revival and transformation in a way I hadn’t comprehended before,
This gave new impetus to pray.
If Christians
are serious about revival, then first we need to be serious about dealing with the abortion issue.
A notice I’d read in 2006, on the wall of the Orewa
Prayer room, also added weight to the need to humble ourselves and fast, to seek His face and pray.
“If there is split blood not
atoned for on the ground of this nation and revival comes, it will result in judgment….consider all the abortions,
all the voices silenced….Don’t think you are innocent because you have not had an abortion. Those
who have, and the children aborted, are your tribe, your nation.”
Although I have not had an abortion, or ever considered one, or until 2001 met
anyone who had had one, suddenly I was implicated like never before. God was holding me accountable because
this was my nation – “your people shall be my people”. (Ruth 1:16)
As a new kid on the block of this abortion issue, I need to honour those who have
fought long and hard the many difficult battles over the last 30+ years. The battle lines are not clear
in many instances. It is not an easy battle.
Do you hear the whistle? Will you say “Yes Lord”,
pick up the weapons of your warfare that the Lord has supplied and join the fray with me?
Sue Rowe,
August 2008
