March 5th – 11th, 2020
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
The Department of Health and Human Services is probing manufacturing “problems with certain test components” in the first testing kits for coronavirus that led several states to request emergency approval for state-specific issues.
Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the coronavirus has been contained with an “aggressive approach in the United States,” but preparations are being made in case circumstances change.
Pray for President Trump, Vice President Pence, the many experts on the coronavirus task force, and others in government who are doing everything they can to prevent, contain and treat virus outbreaks in the U.S.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for Medicare to cover the coronavirus vaccine, which is still being developed and is at least months away from being widely available, in order to ensure seniors can be immunized at no cost.
Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Rules Committee, has assembled a panel to determine how congressional power has been ceded to the president, and how to get it back.
Pray as Congress takes an “all-hands-on-deck” approach to securing funding for addressing the coronavirus.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted the “Remain in Mexico” policy of the Trump Administration, a policy to make asylum seekers wait in Mexico while their cases wind through U.S. immigration courts.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Trump Administration’s decision to withhold Title X funding from medical facilities that provide abortion is constitutional, overturning preliminary injunctions issued by lower courts in three different states.
Pray for the judges in the Ninth Circuit, and for the new appointments made by President Trump.
CURRENT EVENTS
WARS AND TERRORISM
More than 100 members of the Islamic terror group Boko Haram attacked a town in northwestern Nigeria, opening fire on townspeople, and setting fire to churches and houses. Reports claim “many people” were killed, thousands displaced, and others abducted.
Turkey’s air force downed two Russian-made Syrian jet fighters, testing Russia’s dominance of Syrian airspace, as a battle for control of the last rebel stronghold continued near the Turkish border.
Pray for officials dealing with the “millions” of migrants and refugees leaving the Syrian conflict and heading towards Europe.
FOREIGN INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS
The U.S.-based Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust reported over 1,000 Christians were massacred in Nigeria in 2019 as violence continues unabated, turning northern Nigeria into a “ticking time bomb,” they warned.
About 2,500 U.S. troops have returned to Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base nearly 7 years after pulling out to help face the threat being posted by Iran. The kingdom has welcomed them, hoping to prevent new attacks from Iran like the airstrikes that crippled their oil production last September.
Pray for God’s protection over His people and over America’s military men and women.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held onto his lead in a parliamentary election but remained short of a majority needed to form a governing coalition, with about 90 percent of votes counted. His 59 seats won leave him two shy of the 61 majority needed in the Knesset to form a new government.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was advancing settlement construction in contentious open area of the West Bank, with plans for several thousand housing units east of Jerusalem.
Pray for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to be able to form a government to deal with the political issues that face Israel.
THE ECONOMY
Household income rose solidly in January and consumer spending edged higher, while inflation remained in check, signs of stability for the economy – but all ahead of the threats from the coronavirus.
Consumer confidence edged up in February to its best level in six months on an improvement in expectations of solid employment and cheap fuel, helping Americans look past concerns about the spread of the coronavirus.
Pray about the impact of the coronavirus on the America economy, its stock market, and business activities.
ACROSS THE STATES
Advocacy groups have sued the Illinois secretary of state and election officials over voter registrations, saying there has been delayed automatic registration and a lack of access for limited-English speakers, and failing to update voter rolls when people moved.
A House committee in Kentucky cleared a bill aimed at protecting rural health care by creating a loan program to assist financially struggling hospitals, as some rural hospitals are reported as “vulnerable to close.”
Pray for state officials to keep a close eye on election activities and security this season.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord remains forever. And this word is the good news that was preached to you. – 1 Peter 1:24-25
