“God has opened the heavens,” several people told me last night during the final hours of our closing celebration for the fall 2008 Bakersfield 40 Days for Life campaign. They were probably speaking spiritually, but the sky above gave physical evidence of this spiritual reality, as the rain clouds had vanished and the circle of the sky above the killing center was clear, with stars now visible. The presence of God was more evident than ever.

After a time of food, fun, music and fellowship, an impromptu time of sharing testimonies began at about 10:30 pm, as approximately 100 people gathered for the final moments of these 40 days. Vigil participants kept coming to the microphone one after another to share how they had sensed God’s presence at the vigil, reporting various signs and fragrances which indicated that God walked among us. Several people even said that they were enjoying the presence of God so much that they intentionally allowed themselves to get drenched with water when the sprinklers came on.

The joy which permeated the testimony time overflowed into spontaneous worship, as we spread out to surround every side of the local place of child sacrifice. Every prayer and every song seemed to be coming down from heaven.

We had planned to finish the final prayer by 12:15 to avoid the sprinklers. The sprinklers never went on, but the prayers and praise went on and on!

After 1 am, long after the prayers were supposed to end, the energy of the vigil participants seemed to intensify with each blast from the shofars (ram’s horns). In spite of the late hour, the vigil participants showed no signs of weariness. Instead, some began to dance, while others knelt. Some, overcome with the holiness of the worship time, laid prostrate in the presence of the Lord. Finally, after 2 am, the prayer time came to a close, and the joyful vigil participants went home, praising God for what He has done and looking forward to seeing more of His glory in the days ahead.