Urgent Call To Prayer

Urgent Call to Prayer
Lou Engle

Before the elections of 2004, 50 young men and women gathered for 50 days and 50 nights to continuously fast and pray for the ending of abortion and for God’s hand of mercy in establishing governmental leaders. It was prior to this intense time of intercession that a young lady from Las Vegas sent me a dream.

In the dream, there was a basketball court with an evil obstruction resting on it, and all around the court were young people weeping and crying out for the removal of this evil obstruction. In the dream I stepped onto the court wearing a referee’s shirt. (Note that a referee acts as a judge over the court.) As I walked onto the court, a 17-year-old girl fervently began declaring, “Lou Engle, it’s your turn now! Lou Engle, it’s your turn now!” Then, in the climax of this powerful dream, I took the hands of the young people, and together we swept the obstruction off the court.

The dream was very significant to me, as I have played basketball for many years. The dream used the analogy of a basketball court to speak to me concerning my place in raising up a movement of prayer to end abortion in the courts. I felt that the dream implied that a young generation was crying out for the Supreme Court to overrule Roe v. Wade.

Three days before the elections of 2004, we called our group of young people who were standing in prayer in front of the Supreme Court to a three-day Esther fast (no food and no water.) We took this from the biblical account of Esther where Haman had issued a decree for the destruction and annihilation of the Jewish peoples in the empire of Persia. Esther called a three-day fast of no food and no water in order to appeal to the Supreme Court of Heaven to overrule the edicts of the Supreme Court of Haman. I told those kids that we have to have a pro-life president who will appoint judges who will rule for the life of the unborn. We, in essence, were bringing our case before the highest court in the land—God’s court.

At the beginning of this three-day fast, I received a phone call from someone who worked in the Supreme Court asking if I wanted a special tour, an offer to which I readily agreed. Upon meeting her, this employee told me that years before, someone had given her a prophetic word declaring, “that one day she would move to DC and get a job in the Supreme Court building.” It was clear that she was living according to her prophetic destiny.

Out of curiosity, I asked her if there was basketball court in the Supreme Court building. Surprisingly, she answered that there was indeed a basketball court and that it rested precisely on top of where the Supreme Court holds its hearings. I stood there in amazement and promptly asked her to take me to court! Still in amazement at the existence of an actual basketball court, I stood and prayed that God would give us judges who will rule for the life of the unborn. Since that day, two judges have been removed and two new judges have taken their place. Our present court has ruled to uphold the ban on the gruesome procedure of partial birth abortion, and yet we cannot stop here!

This coming election will define the future of millions of unborn children and millions of women who will experience the agonizing pain and regret of post-abortion trauma. One of the current presidential candidates has declared that the first thing that he will do when elected is pass the Freedom of Choice Act. This terrifying act would effectively remove every abortion restriction that has been passed since Roe v. Wade.

Today, I believe we are in an Esther moment in America. In the day of Esther’s three-day fast, God shifted the entire public policy of Persia in a moment. God intervened at the cry of Esther’s voice, Haman was removed, and Mordecai took his place. One woman’s posture of prayer and fasting initiated movement in the heavens, and the result was that an evil death decree was reversed.

I believe that today fasting and prayer can release a divine breakthrough of undeserved mercy. God is the same yesterday, today and forever. We don’t know what’s going to happen in these critical days, but we have scriptural precedent for appeal. Therefore, from November 2 to November 4, we are calling all of those whose hearts are moved to fast for these three days to do so as the Lord would lead them.

We know of many who will be going without food and water, and yet we have no guarantees. Mordecai said to Esther, “Who knows?” I believe that it is this same “Who knows?” which today is pregnant with divine possibilities. Consider that maybe it was for such a time as this that we have come into the kingdom.

For America,

Lou Engle