God never fails to amaze me with His love for each woman who desperately wants to be set free from the tormenting memory of her abortion. It is always heart-wrenching to hear these older women—some are grandmothers—speak of how they had kept their abortions a secret for such a long time, hoping the emotional pain would somehow fade with time.

I do not claim to be an expert in post-abortion trauma, but I personally know that it is a relentless tormentor whose evil companions are shame, regret, rejection, condemnation, and self-hatred. And if the devil is successful at making the woman think that she must put an end to this nightmare, then sometimes suicide will slip right into her thoughts and make itself at home.

But our gracious and forgiving God always has another plan, a higher plan, when a woman submits her will to His.

I have taken all of the prayers I learned and experienced from a CLU course titled, Prayers that Heal the Heart (also available as an interactive e-learning module), and incorporated them into a program that I use when ministering to women who suffer from post-abortion trauma. Remarkable results began occurring.

Below is a summary of four women who had completed the most recent ten-week program and the supernatural changes that the Holy Spirit had done in their lives. The women ranged in age from 42 to 62.

PRE-PROGRAM SYMPTOMS:
-shame
-regret
-condemnation
-self-hatred
-difficulty forgiving self and others
-anxiety
-irritability
-outbursts of anger or rage
-difficulty concentrating
-nightmares or difficulty sleeping at night
-recurrent thoughts about the abortion or the aborted child
-feelings of intense grief on the anniversary of the abortion
-avoidance of activities or situations that remind them of the abortion
-estrangement from others, especially those who were involved in the abortion decision
-used to have drug or alcohol abuse
-used to have suicidal thoughts

POST-PROGRAM RESULTS:
-complete inner peace; no more condemnation or self-hatred
-finally able to let go of past bitterness and hurts
-a feeling of weightlessness
-the mind is quiet and no longer hearing noises or voices
-able to sleep through the night, having 7 to 8 hours of sleep instead of 1 or 2 hours per night
-no more nightmares
-no more tormenting thoughts of the abortion or the aborted child
-through one woman’s complete deliverance and inner healing, her four-year-old son stopped having nightmares and feelings of fear at night
-able to smile and laugh again
-able to forgive self, ex-boyfriends, parents, and medical team
-forgiveness of others comes much easier now
-able to love own children; not so moody and short-tempered
-able to love husband more than before
-understand who she is in Christ Jesus and what He did to set her completely free
-heart feels whole and not empty
-able to love the younger self in the vision and understand the “whys”
-able to feel God’s deep love and forgiveness
-able to look at books on the different stages of a baby’s development without remorse
-able to share with other women who are contemplating abortion
-enjoy being a woman

ONE MONTH FOLLOW-UP:
-All four women continue to enjoy their complete freedom from their post-abortion trauma.

As we neared the end of the program, one of the meetings was the naming of the babies. Through prayer, the Holy Spirit revealed to each mother the sex so she would be able to name her child. We had a celebration-of-life ceremony where each mother lit a tea candle in honor of her baby who now has a name. She was able to dedicate her child to our Lord Jesus Christ before setting the tea candle afloat in a crystal bowl of water. Every mother also wrote a letter to her child and asked Jesus to read it for her. Then these letters that were written on dissolving paper were released in the water. The entire celebration-of-life ceremony brought a closure to a painful past, and the women now know that they will meet their babies in heaven one day.

Today, all four women have a deeper walk with God, serving joyfully at church, and two are now going out and sharing their testimonies with other women who are contemplating having an abortion. Lives are being saved.