Analysis. In Birmingham, England, Isabel Vaughan-Spruce, leader of March for Life UK, was arrested in early December 2022 on a charge of silently praying in front of an abortion clinic that was closed at the time; her prayer was deemed a violation of a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) that established a “buffer” zone around the facility. PSPOs in the U.K. prohibit a range of peaceable activities, including audible prayer and “expressing opinions” about or “influencing” abortion-clinic activities.

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Late in November 2022, Adam Smith-Connor, of Southampton, a British Army veteran, also was fined for silent prayer, in Bournemouth, England. In each case, police officers interrogated the accused on the content of each person’s silent prayer. The arrests were for the presumed anti-abortion or pro-life nature of the prayers.

Rosa Lalor, a 76-year-old grandmother, successfully challenged her February 2021 fine for walking and praying silently near an abortion clinic in Liverpool during the COVID lockdowns. Even so, U.K. politicians are attempting to establish PSPO zones in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and all across England. The Scottish bill would include prayer in its list of banned activities; the Lord Advocate for the bill testified that silent prayer could cause “psychological damage.”

Stateside, masses of emails, tweets, and other documents prove censorship collusion between Biden administration officials (including the FBI), and big tech (including Twitter and Facebook). These efforts clearly targeted conservative — aka Christian — opinions. One woman was fired from her job because of a social-media campaign that accused her of reading and following the “wrong” social-media accounts, according to a recent report by Fox News’ Tucker Carlson.

At the DOJ’s instigation, the FBI is using the federal Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act to arrest pro-life protestors. Though the FACE Act has been in place since 1994, fewer than 100 people had been prosecuted under it through May 2022. But the Biden administration has stepped up activities, arresting 26 people for alleged violations in 2022 alone.

Two high-profile cases entail raids executed months after the alleged violations. One case — Pennsylvania’s Mark Houck, arrested in September 2022 — is before the jury, which seemed unable to come up with a verdict as of press time. Paul Vaughn, arrested in October 2022, was arrested under similar circumstances as Houck — in a raid involving multiple FBI agents at his home, in front of his children and wife. Update: Houck was found innocent on Monday, January 30, 2023.

Documented vandalism to pro-life pregnancy centers, however, went unaddressed — until recently — by the FBI and DOJ.

As with Vaughan-Spruce’s arrest — police even searched her hair — these FBI raids seem intended to humiliate and intimidate pro-life advocates. We’ve seen this before, when the FBI struck at those standing against election and voter fraud and school board malfeasance.

As IFA has covered, a lawsuit by several states against the federal government reveals that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) considers thoughts and online posts to be “critical infrastructure,” thereby giving officials the authority to regulate them.

Satan wants arrests for “thought crimes” — especially prayer — to come to America.

Because Satan is scared of prayer.

Intercessors know this, and Satan knows this. Now, those in the U.K. who are in the thrall of Satan understand that prayer can “influence” abortion-clinic activity.

Bear in mind that I am not calling the people behind the intimidation, the FBI, or the U.K. police and politicians satanic, but they are being used of Satan to advance his dark kingdom on earth with intimidation, intolerance, child sacrifice, and antichrist messages.

Satan is scared to lose ground.

As the Lord’s servants build His kingdom on earth. we have Satan on the run with every prayer.

Let’s force him to retreat as we take ground for the kingdom. We can learn a lot about keeping Satan at the point of the sword from Nehemiah’s strategies.

The Persian King Artaxerxes gave his cupbearer, Nehemiah, permission to help his Jewish brethren reestablish Jerusalem. Thus, Nehemiah took ground from the enemies by rebuilding the wall around the City of David.

Nehemiah prayed regularly.

The book of Nehemiah opens and closes with prayer. At key moments, we see him praying, even while he is with the king — who evidently doesn’t fear “thought crimes”! The 13 chapters of the book include eight mentions of prayer or praise, and 11 prayers, including one that is almost two chapters long.

When the enemy threatened riots, Nehemiah and his team prayed and set up a night guard. They were vigilant.

Nehemiah prayed specifically.

The book’s first recorded prayer includes many aspects that intercessors will recognize. In the Bible account, Nehemiah extolls God’s greatness (worship), reminds Him of the covenant (relationship), and confesses sin (repentance). Nehemiah acknowledges God’s justice and mercy. Finally, Nehemiah requests favor and mercy from the Persian king (petition).

And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, confessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even I and my father’s house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules that you commanded your servant Moses. Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the peoples, but if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, though your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them to the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ They are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man” (Nehemiah 1:5–11).

Nehemiah prayed aggressively.

During rebuilding, Nehemiah faced satanic opposition from external enemies, namely Sanballat the Horonite, Tobiah the Ammonite, and Gershem the Arab, and their allies. The enemies started with whisper campaigns, escalated to trolling, and ended with plotting riots and murder.  They also bribed Jewish inhabitants to spy for them and to lure Nehemiah into danger.

We know that our fight is not against humans, but against Satan’s demonic servants. In this scripture, we can understand Sanballat, Tobiah, and Gershem to represent satanic forces.

In this light, Nehemiah’s prayer is a model for spiritual warfare. He prayed that the Lord would reverse curses and bind, plunder, and punish the enemy:

Hear, O our God, for we are despised. Turn back their taunt on their own heads and give them up to be plundered in a land where they are captives. Do not cover their guilt, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight, for they have provoked you to anger in the presence of the builders (Nehemiah 4:4–5).

Nehemiah was more than a man on a mission — he was a man on his knees. Retaking Jerusalem from the enemies of the Hebrews — and of God — required regular, strategic, and aggressive prayer.

Because of such prayer, Nehemiah and the Jewish people rebuilt the broken walls of Jerusalem in 52 days, ousting the ungodly and sealing the city from those who would trespass on God’s law. In a beautiful coda, Nehemiah’s pleas that the Lord remember him with favor have been answered in every Bible published since then.

Lord, teach us to pray regularly, specifically, and aggressively. We know — and our Enemy knows — that prayer  is effective. We choose to take ground from Satan, destroying his dark reign and establishing the kingdom of Christ. When the Enemy tries to control our very thoughts, we choose to oust his evil dominion, praying to You, the great and awesome God Who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love You and keep Your commandments. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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New York City–based Joyce Swingle is an intercessor and a contributing writer for IFA. With her husband, Rich, also a contributing writer for IFA, Joyce shares the gospel of Jesus Christ around the world through theater, speaking, writing, and film. Prior to going into full-time ministry, Joyce worked for about 20 major magazines and now works in pastoral ministry and Christian counseling. Photo Credit: Canva.