The Prayers come to the abortion centre to pray for an hour or more, on any day that the babies are going to be aborted. They carry on a most important spiritual battle, as they stand outside the centre. They pray in a spirit of reparation: for their own sins; the sin of abortion; and particularly for the deaths that will occur while they stand outside on that day.

They pray for women going into the centre: for the abortionist and staff; for the neighbouring community; for their legislators; for the religious leaders of the country; and for all who, through indifference, do nothing to try to stop abortion.

The Prayers provide spiritual and moral support for the Pavement Counsellors. They are essential. Before a mother is able to physically abort her child, a ‘spiritual abortion’ must take place within her heart. By the time she arrives at the abortion centre, she will have already rejected her child. This ‘spiritual abortion’ must be overcome by spiritual means before the mother can change her mind about the physical abortion. By their sacrifice and prayer, the Prayers obtain the grace of God that is needed to reverse the ‘spiritual abortion’, while at the same time the Pavement Counsellors are working to prevent the physical abortion of the child.

The Prayers are also there to give a personal love to God’s babies who will die that day. Just as John the Baptist was able to leap for joy in Elizabeth’s womb because he was aware of presence of the love of Jesus and Mary (remember that it was at the sound of Mary’s voice that he leapt in his mother’s womb), so too will the babies joyfully leap in their mothers’ wombs when they hear the voices of the Prayers. They will know they are loved.