Why Pray in Front of the US Supreme Court for 10 Years?
Saturday marks the 10-year anniversary of Bound4LIFE and the Justice House of Prayer DC. We are so thankful for God’s faithfulness this past decade–how He has made a way for us to remain on Capitol Hill. Some have asked the question, “Has it been worth it?” Emphatically I say, Yes!
From Day One, we’ve burned with a burden to plead the Blood of Jesus over the bloodshed of the innocent due to abortion. Lou Engle has often asked, “Has there ever in history been a larger, more focused application of the Blood of Jesus on a single issue?”
As I was recently praying for the upcoming anniversary, the Lord gave me a powerful picture of what 10 years of prayers in front of the Supreme Court have represented. On the day of Passover, the people were instructed to take the blood of the lamb and apply it to the doorposts and lintel of their homes. I saw the left and right doorposts as 2004 to 2014. The lintel connecting the two was the 10-year span that we have faithfully cried out on behalf of the nation. The picture is of the “doorway of a decade,” and what a privilege it has been to apply the Blood of Jesus to it.
In the Beginning
After 50 days and nights of prayer before the 2004 elections, Lou Engle led a team of young intercessors to Washington, DC. The objective was to contend in prayer for the ending of abortion. Immediately at stake was an anticipated shifting of the U.S. Supreme Court.
At that time, everyone knew Chief Justice William Rehnquist had cancer. His departure from the Court was expected, creating the potential for a dramatic shift in the make-up of the nine justices. The change of even one seat could have a profound effect on how the Court would rule and subsequently determine the destiny of our nation. In times of political upheaval and governmental uncertainty, it’s vital to lay hold of the eternal reality of the heavenly throne—as when Isaiah said, “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne” (Is. 6:1).
The day our prayer team arrived just happened to be the opening day of a new session—the first Monday of October. No one had planned it, but we walked right into a protest and media frenzy focused on abortion. Pro-abortion protestors held signs that read, “Save Roe” (to us, this defensive language highlighted possibilities on the horizon.) The team was greeted by bullhorns, shouts and angry chants like, “Keep your rosaries off our ovaries.” We weren’t even Catholic, but I can’t repeat some of the vulgar chants. The rancor in the air was palpable.
A Strategy Only God Could Have Planned
Leading up to that visceral moment, one of our young leaders had been fasting for the ending of abortion. He received a dream from the Lord in which he saw thousands of people filling the city of Washington, D.C. In the dream, everyone had a piece of tape over their mouth with the simple word “LIFE” written on it. The scene in front of the Supreme Court on the day of our arrival could not have been more different.
Rather than joining in the commotion, the team sought the Lord for what we should do. In a moment of clarity, Lou Engle said, “Let’s just do the dream.” Someone on our team had red tape on hand. Each person wrote “LIFE” on it and placed the tape over their mouth. In Ezekiel 22:30, God says, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.” With red Life Tape we stood side-by-side and formed a wall in front of the Court.
Imagine the stark contrast of one group screaming and yelling, right next to another group standing in complete silence. It didn’t go unnoticed—not by us and not by the media.
A leader of a national pro-abortion group approached one of our people asking, “What is this? We’ve never seen this before.” It wasn’t a protest; it was a prayer meeting. The silent prayers were to identify with the silence of the pre-born who have no voice to defend themselves. The pro-abortion leader responded with a statement that has been proven true time and again: “I don’t know if you realize it, but what you’re doing is brilliant strategy.”
In a short time, the image of young people praying with red Life Tape spread everywhere as the media latched on to it. It quickly became a picture that spoke a thousand words. Red Life Bands—worn after committing to pray, vote and obey—reminded us of the vision everyday.
Young countercultural dreamers dared to believe a nation’s conscience could be subpoenaed with a single word from heaven declared in obedience. Faith was rising; the death culture of a nation could be challenged and thrown down.
A Hill Above Capitol Hill
During the earliest days of that “Silent Siege,” the Lord made it clear He wanted a house of prayer to contend for righteousness and justice on Capitol Hill. This wouldn’t be a man-made effort of lobbying lawmakers. Instead, it would lobby heaven. It would ascend a hill higher than Capitol Hill. It would make its appeal to a court much higher than the Supreme Court.
Miracle after miracle took place, and a space for a prayer room was secured. The Justice House of Prayer was born.
Malachi 1:11 says, “My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord Almighty.” Thankfully, Washington, D.C. isn’t off limits to this promise.
