When Diane Strack gathered with friends at the Museum of the Bible in Washington D.C. earlier this year, little did she know the thoughts expressed would help lead to a national prayer movement and telecast event.
“The Lord sent and brought women together … who said, ‘Let’s do this in the name of Jesus,’” said Strack, director of She Loves Out Loud.
A national initiative that is inviting churches, pregnancy centers, colleges, rescue missions and small groups to gather via telecast to pray for the healing of hearts, for children and for the country, She Loves Out Loud is scheduled for next February.
The prayer event will be of benefit to pregnancy care ministers and their clients, along with post-abortive women, organizers say.
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“Prayer brings us together in the greatest of virtues - Love,” the event’s website states.
It continues, “Psalm 68:11 declares “The Lord gave the command; a great company of women brought the Good News, and that is just what we plan to do.”
It was a three-day prayer retreat in Texas a few months after that meeting in D.C. that brought the vision for She Loves Out Loud into focus.
“Out of that, the whole plan emerged, the themes, everything,” Strack said. “Since then, the Lord has continued almost every day (showing how) to keep on. People continually hear the vision.”
“I believe God is moving across our nation, calling women to pray together, calling women to care for each other, calling women to healing and hope and to sharing that healing and hope,” said Strack. “Literally, every day I’m on my computer and there’s something new … someone who wants to join us and come alongside us”
That includes studio space donated by James Robison, assistance from Lifeway Christian Resources, and securing Christian speakers such as Sheila Walsh and Priscilla Shirer.
Prayer themes
The mission is to pray in the gap between trauma and triumph; between anger and peace; and between bitterness and forgiveness.
Seven themes comprise the February prayer event, including abortion and life, with a talk given by abortion survivor Clare Culwell.
The additional themes are hope, to be presented by sexual abuse and human trafficking survivor Christa Lynn; overcoming depression by Sheila Walsh; race relations with Priscilla Shirer; and family and marriage issues by Carol Kent and Melody and Tray Lavvorn.
“These are amazing stories of hope and transformation,” said Strack, an author, speaker, and mentor for women and children. “We are looking for Lord to bring one million women together to pray in one heart for the healing of hearts, for the future of our children, and for God to be honored in our country.”
Military wives are another important component. Suicides among servicemen and women and their families is frighteningly high. According to Pentagon officials, 321 activity duty personnel took their lives last year, tying the record high of 2012.
Suicide also courses through the families of service members.
“One hundred and twenty military wives committed suicide in 2017,” Strack said. “We’re reaching out to these women and want to bring churches alongside them. The Lord led us to add this (theme). We need to come around these women and just love on them and pray for them.”
Uplifting life
Mary Lou Hendry, director of Sanctity of Human Life, Florida Baptist Children’s Homes and One More Child, is one of Strack’s assistants in this prayer movement. Strack serves on the board for the organization.
“There is a great love in her (Diane’s) heart and a great love in my heart for women and families,” Hendry said. “I have the honor of serving alongside her and serving with her in any way I can.”
Both believe people in pregnancy care ministry and their clients will be well-served by the February event as well as women who have experienced abortion.
“If these women could just hear these stories, think how many babies could be saved,” Strack said. “Mary Lou caught the vision. We prayed God would open the door for us to get the word out to pregnancy centers.”
Tweet This: “If these women could just hear these stories, think how many babies could be saved”
Culwell’s talk of surviving abortion “is such a beautiful story of God’s healing and forgiveness,” Strack added.
She hopes pregnancy centers will listen in to the telecast with their clients and staff, and that women in churches who have had abortions “and never told anyone” will be encouraged to find that healing and forgiveness.
Scripture, prayer and love
The She Loves Out Loud movement began with a conversation prior to the gathering in Washington, D.C.
“In her last days, my mentor, the co-founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, and I met, and she told me, ‘Diane, gather the women to pray - it’s the only hope we have for our nation,’” Strack said. “I agreed with her, but I didn’t have any clue I was to do anything with that.”
“As we saw things unfold in our culture … the Lord began to speak to me and said, “These women don’t understand what you understand, that they have a Father who loves them unconditionally, that there’s a Savior that can make all things new, that there’s a Comforter that can fill them with joy,” said Strack.
“He spoke to me in ways that would not leave my heart, that would not leave my mind,” she added, “that we were to gather women together to pray for one another, to love each other, to talk about the healing that is available in Christ and in the Scriptures.”
Organizers urge women to lift up someone who may need encouragement on the day prior to the telecast, Valentine’s Day, February 14.
“We’re asking people to find someone who thinks differently than you do or needs encouragement,” Strack said. “Take them out for coffee, brunch, or breakfast, and say, “Happy Valentine’s Day! I just want to tell you I love you and I’m praying for you.”
As they prepare for the February 2020 prayer event, Strack and her assistants gather on Facebook for prayer every Wednesday. Anyone is welcome to join in, she said.
“We’re living an adventure with Yahweh,” Strack said. “We’re really excited about this movement and this historic day!”
The She Loves Out Loud live telecast will take place on Saturday, February 15, 2020, and will be featured on the organization’s website, the group's Facebook page, and on Lifeway Digital Pass.
For more information on the she Loves Out Loud event, visit the website at www.shelovesoutloud.org.
Editor's note: This week is Heartbeat International's Pregnancy Help Appreciate Week, wherein Heartbeat honors those working within the pregnancy help movement. Click HERE for more information.
