A Christian Couple Must Decide: Abortion or Trust God
July 2021
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“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.”
—Deuteronomy 30:19
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Donna and I were in pastoral ministry in Mobile, Alabama. I will never forget a certain day in May of 1989. We had had a busy day, but I was now home; Donna was doing something in the kitchen, and I was about to watch a little news on TV.
At about 9 p.m., I received a phone call from two of our church members, a young married couple, Kimberly and David. By the tone of Kimberly’s voice, I could tell something very bad was going on. I had officiated their wedding, so I knew them quite well. At this time, David and Kimberly were in the military, stationed at Norfolk, Virginia. Kimberly had been crying, and she just let it gush out: “Pastor, we need prayer. We don’t know what to do!” David was beside her, but he was very quiet.
I said, “Kimberly, what is going on, what is happening?”
With much emotion and feeling, she and David shared with me that she was pregnant, and the doctor had given them some very bad news. After reviewing the blood test and other tests, the doctor was convinced that they should abort their unborn child. Kim was in her fifth month of pregnancy.
She said, “We met with the doctor today, and he shared with us the results of various blood tests. He told us that the tests revealed that the unborn child probably has a serious biological genetic defect called Down syndrome, and he thinks that we should consider abortion. We don’t believe in abortion. Pastor Gray, what should we do?”
All of this was shared with much anguish and heartache. I could sense their pain and confusion.
I spent a few moments trying to get my composure and decided immediately to pray for them. Even though they were hundreds of miles from me—they were in Virginia, and I was in Alabama—I still asked them to join hands, and I prayed for God’s comfort and wisdom to be upon them and to help them to know and do God’s perfect will. They settled down just a little, and the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart very quickly and strongly and said, “They must not abort this child. This child must live and not die.”
I will never forget what I did or said at this point in the discussion. With strong boldness, I insisted, “David, go to your kitchen and get some oil to anoint Kimberly.” I asked him to take the oil, anoint her, and lay his hands on her stomach. “Together,” I said, “we are going to pray for complete healing and do a baby dedication, even though the child is unborn.
David got the oil, he and Kimberly both laid their hands on her stomach, and I led them in a prayer of dedication and healing. We prayed for God’s protection and healing for that unborn child. We prayed, “Father, if this child has a serious physical problem or illness, we ask You to heal this baby and remove this condition from its little body and make it completely whole. Lord, allow this pregnancy to go full term and allow this child to be born well and healthy.”
When we finished our prayer meeting and baby dedication, I said to David and Kimberly, “We have prayed the prayer of faith over this child; we have done what God’s Word tells us to do. Now, the two of you must trust God totally for whatever happens. I will continue to join with you all in faith and believe that the baby will be born healthy without any physical problems. But we must leave this baby in the hands of God, knowing that God is in control.”
I asked them, “Do you agree to not abort this baby and trust God completely with the outcome?” With tears and much emotion, they both said, “Yes.” I shared a few more words from Scripture, prayed a brief prayer, and we hung up. That was May 1989.
In or about 1996, Donna and I were visiting the incredible Brownsville Revival in Pensacola, Florida where Evangelist Steve Hill was preaching. At the end of the service, I saw Kimberly coming toward us. We had not seen Kimberly or David for about six or seven years. She rushed up to us and said, “Do you see that little blonde-headed girl over there coming our way?”
I said yes.
“That is Britney,” she almost shouted, “the child the doctor wanted to abort in May of 1989!” Britney walked to her mother and Kimberly said, “Britney, this is Pastor Don Paul and Donna Gray. They used to be our pastors. I want you to meet them.” We rejoiced and wept and hugged. God had given David and Kim a beautiful little blonde-headed girl in perfect health!
Just recently, I heard that Kimberly’s daughter, Britney, had gotten married, and she and her husband now have a beautiful daughter named Iliana. Wow, God is so merciful and good!
But what if they had done what the doctor wanted them to do on that day in May of 1989? There would be no Britney and no Iliana—just a life of regrets for David and Kimberly.
Since Roe v. Wade in 1973, more than sixty million babies have been murdered in the wombs of their mothers by doctors and nurses in America. There were 889,000 abortions here in America in 2019. Did you know that twenty-two percent of all pregnancies end up in abortion? Statistics tell us that fifty percent of women getting abortions are twenty-five years old and younger. How sad is that?
Dear friends, Deuteronomy 30:19 admonishes us to choose life not death. The following Scriptures remind us that God is fully aware of each one of us while still in our mother’s womb:
- “For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb,” (Ps. 139:13).
- “Thus saith the LORD that made thee, and formed thee from the womb” (Isa. 44:2).
- “Before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee” (Jer. 1:5).
In May of 1989, David and Kimberly made the right decision concerning her pregnancy. They chose life and not death. Consequently, God truly blessed them for obeying God’s Word. Today, they greatly enjoy their daughter Britney and now their granddaughter, Iliana. They are blessed! If you happen to know someone who is contemplating abortion, please share this testimony with them. Let them read it. It may help them to make the right decision.
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