I have ministered to many women who have struggled to overcome the guilt they felt for having an abortion. By God’s grace and mercy, I was able to lead them to freedom from that guilt and from anything else that had tormented them around that action. Today, I want to share God’s truth and His heart of compassion for any woman who has had an abortion. As you receive God’s forgiveness, God wants to bring freedom from the consequences of that action, He wants to offer comfort, and He wants to help you move forward in healing.
Many of the women who have shared with me their experience of having an abortion had never talked about it before. They had kept it bottled up and preserved the secret alone for years. Some of these women expressed to me a hidden, deep pain they had carried all those years.
For many of them, they felt like it was the right thing to do at the time or that it was the best option. Some were advised to believe that it was their only option. Interestingly the circumstances around conception, whether it was consensual or a result of abuse, did not alter their common feelings of guilt and regret for receiving an abortion. And although their motives for receiving the abortion were diverse, not necessarily out of inconvenience but sometimes out of the most difficult situations, they still harbored a pain they needed to be released from.
The first step to freedom is confession
God’s Word says: Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed (James 5:16). And Proverbs 28:13 says: He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
It is critical for someone who has had an abortion or been an accessory to abortion to confess it as sin to the Father so that healing will come. The enemy tries to lie to them to tell them that they will feel worse guilt and condemnation if they bring it to the light. Yet guilt and condemnation reside in our hearts and thrive in the darkness and hidden places of our lives. That guilt and condemnation are not from God, and in the light of His love, they cannot stand.
I think about how Jesus so graciously handled the woman who was caught in adultery in the book of John:
When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more. 12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life. John 8:10-22 KJV
Will God forgive abortion?
Even if a woman was coerced to receive the abortion against her will, her body was still used in an act of sin. The enemy doesn’t play fair; he will bring temptation to terminate the life of the unborn child, but when the abortion procedure is complete, he will bring condemnation. He can take a foothold in their lives at that point to bring in fear, guilt, shame, accusation, and bitterness towards themselves and others. These evil spirits are what cause the unresolved pain and torment regarding abortion procedures.
When a woman repents to God for participating in the abortion, she is telling the enemy that his accusations will no longer stand. The Bible says that when we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9). Christ Jesus paid the price for our sins when He died on the cross, yet His free gift can only lead to freedom if we confess our sins and receive His forgiveness.
Taking responsibility for your own life and receiving the healing power of forgiveness
Many women I ministered to didn’t feel forgivable by God. But I want you to know that abortion is not the unforgivable sin. When we repent and turn away from our agreement with the enemy regarding our guilt, we are cleansed, and God will remember our sin no longer. The Bible also says that the Lord removes our sins from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). However, we must also make the choice to forgive ourselves so that the enemy won’t have an open door to continue to accuse us of forgiven sins.
I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. Psalm 32:5 KJV
Responsibility for those who participate in an abortion decision
As for a person who advised or coerced a vulnerable woman to receive an abortion, or who performed the abortion, God will also hold them accountable for their actions until they too repent and turn away from agreement with their sin. They allowed themselves to be the tool that the enemy used to lead one of God’s children to sin, and He doesn’t take that lightly. In this case, Matthew 18:6 in the NLT Bible says it clearest:
But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to have a large millstone tied around your neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea. Matthew 18:6 NLT
Receiving the post-abortion healing power of God’s forgiveness
I’ve seen women come before God and confess the sin of abortion and receive His forgiveness, and something powerful happened to their hearts; they felt released from the guilt. It astounded me to see great relief come upon them as they received their forgiveness from God. Some of them had defended their decision by justifying or blaming others for years but felt no relief until they confessed it as sin and received forgiveness. That’s when healing came.
If you have received or participated with abortion in any way, God wants to release you from guilt, shame, and fear. God does not accuse you, oppress you, or condemn you; it’s the enemy that wants to draw you away from the love of your Heavenly Father. God is the God of mercy and love; He wants the very best for you, and that’s why He wants you to acknowledge it, repent, be cleansed, and set free.
God’s grace restores all things
You may have struggled with feeling estranged from God because the enemy made you feel accused and condemned. But really, God wants to draw you to Himself by His Holy Spirit and lavish you with His love, grace, mercy, and compassion.
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Romans 2:4 KJV
If you are a believer and the mother of a child who has been aborted, you will still be able to spend eternal life with your child. They are safe in the Father’s arms, and although you didn’t get to enjoy each other here on earth, all is not lost, and there is still hope!
Forgive others and move forward into new life and peace
The father of the child is also a key player in this conversation about forgiveness for abortion. God designed fathers to represent His heart to their wives and children and to make provision for life. He meant them to be a safe place for their families to live, be at peace, and be covered. However, in the case of abortion, the father is often unwilling or unable to do this, putting added stress and pressure on the mother to forfeit her pregnancy.
For a woman to receive complete healing and freedom regarding abortion, it is important that she forgives the father of her aborted child for not properly loving or covering her and the baby. Or, in the case of sexual abuse and rape, she needs to forgive him for taking advantage of her and leaving her in that desperate place. She needs to release him to God and cancel that unpayable debt of sin and unforgiveness in her heart.
God offers forgiveness to all; we need to too!
Other people she may need to forgive may include those who advised, influenced, coerced, or performed the abortion. As I’ve said, they are responsible before God for causing her to sin in her time of weakness. However, for a woman to be set completely free from any oppression regarding an abortion, she needs to release them and not carry their sin in her body any longer through unforgiveness, bitterness, and accusation.
God calls us to have the same heart that Jesus had when He was dying on the cross. He said this of his own murderers, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” Luke 23:34 KJV
Receiving God’s forgiveness requires forgiving others
The Word of God also says that if we do not forgive others of their trespasses against us, God won’t forgive us either. So forgiving others is critical to our healing journey.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. Matthew 6:14-15 KJV
When we forgive others, we release ourselves from the torment around what they said or did to us and release them to the hands of the almighty judge. He desires to lead them to repentance and healing too. We can trust the Father for justice.
Don’t let past choices define your new life in Christ Jesus
As long as bitterness and unforgiveness are present in our hearts towards anyone, the enemy will have occasion to recall and replay the trauma and the torment continually. However, in the absence of bitterness and with the choice to forgive, the torment will also leave, and we are set free to live guilt-free and at peace with ourselves and God.
God wants to bring healing to your spirit and your body
From a Be in Health® perspective, we also know that holding bitterness and unforgiveness in our hearts can lead to a physical breakdown in our bodies and disease. In addition, the presence of fear, guilt, and shame can lead to a compromised immune system and make our bodies more susceptible to disease.
When we confess our sins and come out of agreement with the enemy’s lies and bondage in our lives, our spirit and our body can come back into peace and begin to serve us again the way God designed it to.
God is faithful to heal and bring restoration
If you have received or participated in an abortion in any way, I pray that the Father will touch your heart and release you from the fear, guilt, and shame associated with it. Perhaps it would be beneficial to find a person who is a safe place to confess this sin so that you can bring it into the light and separate yourself from it once and for all. I also pray that Father God heals your broken heart and brings restoration and peace in every area of your life; that what the enemy intended for evil, God will turn and use for good.
If you would like to take the step today to walk into freedom from the trauma and guilt of abortion, you can use this prayer of repentance and healing as a guide.
A prayer of repentance for participating in abortion
Father God, I recognize how my participation with abortion has opened the door to the enemy of fear, guilt, shame, bitterness, and accusation into my life. I choose to confess my sin before you today, and I ask for your forgiveness for participating with it. Please set me free from the fear and torment in this area of my life and heal my broken heart.
I also choose to release ____________ (insert any and all names necessary here) from the debt of sin and unforgiveness that I’ve held against them for their role in the abortion. I pray that you help them recover themselves also out of the snare and deception of the enemy.
I also choose to forgive myself for any guilt, bitterness, and self-hatred I’ve held against myself. I did not understand in totality what I was agreeing with at that time in my life, but I want to move forward with my life in peace and wholeness. Thank you for cleansing me with the blood of Jesus Christ and healing me by your Holy Spirit and unfailing love.
Please release me also from the power of a spirit of death and destruction that joined me as a result of participating with the abortion. I cancel its assignment in my life, and I am no longer in agreement with it.
Heal my body, too, if it has been affected in any way by the trauma of abortion. I pray that as I receive your forgiveness and freedom, you will use me to help set others free as well.
Thank you for your kindness and graciousness toward me; I receive it!
In Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen!
My challenge for you as you walk out into wholeness and freedom
Don’t be ashamed of your journey; God can use your testimony of freedom from the trauma of abortion to set others free too. It’s time that we rise up as the beloved and accepted children of God that we are and take revenge on the enemy for the desolation he has caused in our lives and in our generations.
And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:6 KJV
Be blessed and move forward into newness of life!
Pastor Adrienne Shales
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