August 13th – August 19th, 2020
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
President Trump said he is considering cutting the capital gains tax and lowering income taxes for middle-income families to help the American economy recover from the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
President Trump’s actions targeting the Chinese social media apps TikTok and WeChat are driven by concerns over collection of American users’ data, national security, privacy, and longstanding complaints about Chinese business tactics, said Peter Navarro, an economic adviser to the president.
Pray for President Trump and those who serve with him in the White House as they seek means of restoring America’s economy while dealing with issues of foreign nations.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
Congressional leaders were unable to reach an agreement on an additional coronavirus aid package, which would have included stimulus checks and extensions on now expired enhanced unemployment benefits, eviction protection, and a small business loan program. Due to the stalled negotiations, many lawmakers have returned to their home states.
Government oversight and taxpayer watchdog groups say it’s time for the Senate Appropriations Committee to follow its House counterparts and start letting cameras into its markup sessions. The Senate has a tradition of “audio only” in markups.
Pray for members of Congress whose focus has shifted away from legislating and into campaigning for reelection.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a judge’s ruling that has blocked four Arkansas abortion restrictions from taking place, saying the case needs to be reconsidered in light of a recent decision on abortion by the U.S. Supreme Court.
A three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said the Dakota Access pipeline can continue carrying oil for now, effectively reversing a lower court’s order that the pipeline be emptied of crude by August 5 and remain shut during an Army Corps of Engineers investigation.
Pray for judges that sit on the nation’s Appeals Courts whose decisions are often the ones that remain unless further appeals are taken up by the Supreme Court.
CURRENT EVENTS
WARS AND TERRORISM
Defense Secretary Mark Esper said the U.S. troop level will go down to below 5,000 In Afghanistan by the end of November adding that members of Congress still need to be briefed on the plan. It would be the lowest number since the earliest days of the war there in 2001.
At least eight Somali soldiers were killed and 14 others wounded when a car bomb exploded at the gates of a military base. The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab extremist group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Pray about peace negotiations that are on-again-off-again between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
FOREIGN INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS
Foreign actors trying to interfere in the 2020 election will not get off scot-free, according to national security adviser Robert O’Brien who said the U.S. is “taking steps to counter it, whether it’s China or Russia or Iran. We’re not going to put up with it.”
America’s strategic position in Asia is eroding as the Philippines cozies up to China prompted by Chinese promises of economic investments, infrastructure development, and jobs that would boost President Rodrigo Duerte’s popularity.
Pray that foreign attempts to interfere in the election will be identified, called out and restricted.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Prime Minister Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Ashkenazi tied the massive explosion in Beirut to Hezbollah’s weapons stores in civilian areas of Lebanon, saying they used civilians and cities to cover for their terrorist actions.
Israel has signaled that it is willing to help Lebanon following the massive explosion in the Beirut port last week, according to French President Macron who is leading a relief program for the people of Lebanon.
Pray for the thousands of displaced people, the injured, and the families of those who were killed in the blast in Beirut’s port.
THE ECONOMY
Americans cut back on credit cards and other consumer borrowing in the second quarter as the pandemic froze the economy, sending overall household debt down for the first time in six years even as mortgage loans continued to rise.
Auto sales have bounced back in recent months despite the coronavirus pandemic, with some brands even seeing their sales increase over 2019 numbers at the same point in the year, but factory orders overall remain below their February level.
Pray that the American economy would grow stronger and employment opportunities increase.
ACROSS THE STATES
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held discussions with educators and parents, telling them students need to have the option for face-to-face learning, and he issued an executive order that districts across the state were to offer in-person learning or risk funding cuts.
A proposed vertical rocket launch site in the wilds of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is being seen by some residents as a threat to Lake Superior.
Pray for state governors, school district decision-makers, parents and teachers as questions of safe school re-openings remain.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. – Psalm 91:14
