June 18th – June 24th, 2020
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
President Trump declared that giving children vouchers to attend private schools instead of public institutions— a longtime aspiration—would be the nation’s most important civil rights measure.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet China’s top diplomat in Hawaii in an effort to ease tensions between the world’s two largest economies over various issues; arrangements are not yet finalized.
Pray for wisdom for the president and those serving with him as they deal with both domestic and international matters.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
Social media companies and other online businesses could lose certain legal shields under a proposal being drafted by Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri who said they may need to stop selling certain targeted ads in order to retain legal protections.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said it’s up to individual states to decide whether or not to keep Confederate statues in the U.S. Capitol after Speaker Nancy Pelosi called for eleven statues to be removed saying they “pay homage to hate, not heritage.”
Pray for both Houses of Congress to work cooperatively for the benefit of the nation.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
The Supreme Court overturned a lower court’s ruling that had voided a key permit for work on a pipeline along the Appalachian Trail, meaning construction could resume before the end of the year.
The Supreme Court passed up several challenges to federal and state gun control laws, leaving in place restrictions on the right to carry in public in three states and another ban on some semi-automatic firearms and large-capacity magazines.
Pray for the Supreme Court Justices as they conclude their current session with the release of more decisions.
CURRENT EVENTS
WARS AND TERRORISM
The UN Secretary General reported that cruise missiles used in several attacks on oil facilities and an international airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of “Iranian origin” and may have been transferred in a manner “inconsistent” with a 2015 Security Council resolution with Tehran.
The Taliban rejected a top American general’s assessment that the al-Qaeda leadership is still based in Afghanistan, insisting that no foreign fighters linked to the terror group are present in the country.
Pray for America’s military men and women as they protect and defend other nations with American might.
FOREIGN INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS
North Korea has warned the United States to stay out of their affairs, intimating that they will interfere with the November U.S. elections otherwise.
Russia and China have begun making the case at the UN against U.S. claims that it can trigger a return of all sanctions on Iran at the Security Council, with Moscow invoking a 50-year-old international legal opinion to argue against the move.
Pray for Secretary of State Pompeo and UN Ambassador Kelly Craft as they deal with American policies toward other countries.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
UN human rights experts question Isreal’s plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank, voicing concerns that it could violate international human rights law.
Construction is under way on a major new ring road for Jerusalem that Israeli officials say will benefit all of its residents, but some worry that it is another obstacle to Palestinian hopes to make East Jerusalem the capital of a future state.
Pray for wisdom for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli decision makers.
THE ECONOMY
The Secret Service said that coronavirus-related fraud could lead to $30 billion in federal relief funds (or 1 percent of the $3 trillion total) being stolen by criminals, primarily through phishing emails or cyberattacks on insecure networks of people working from home during the pandemic.
Applications for loans to purchase a home rose 5 percent from a week before and were 3 percent higher than a year ago as buyers who held off during the pandemic are seeking to take advantage of rates at near record lows.
Pray for the recovery of small businesses and increased stability in the American economy as pandemic restrictions ease.
ACROSS THE STATES
Governor David Ige of Hawaii extended until the end of July the state’s mandatory 14-day quarantine for all arriving travelers in a bid to keep coronavirus cases in the islands low as a screening process is installed.
Puerto Rico’s Governor Wanda Vazquez signed into law significant revisions to the island’s civil code that removes language protecting the LGBTQ+ community. Her actions met with outrage from civil rights activists.
Pray for governors and leaders as they continue to address public health while facing other societal issues.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth!” – Psalm 46:10
