November 12th – November 18th, 2020
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
Attorney General William Barr authorized U.S. attorneys across the country to “pursue substantial allegations” of voting irregularities before the 2020 election is certified. If allegations are true, he said, “the outcome of a federal election” could be impacted.
Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson tested positive for the coronavirus, remains “in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery.”
Pray for the president and those around him as they deal with election results and legal challenges.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Congress should pass a limited stimulus bill before the end of 2020, saying that, despite vaccines and improved therapeutics, targeted pandemic relief is still needed.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham indicated that the Senate may continue confirming President Trump’s judicial nominees between now and Inauguration Day, regardless of who wins the election. “We will keep operating,” he said.
Pray for members of the House and Senate as they return to Washington for a “lame duck” session.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
A three-judge federal court panel became the third court to rule that the census effort to exclude people in the country illegally from the numbers used for dividing up congressional seats is unlawful. A similar case will go before the Supreme Court for oral arguments at the end of November.
A judge in Minnesota ordered that all four Minneapolis police officers charged in connection with the death of George Floyd be tried in a single proceeding though defense attorneys had argued that a fair trial was not possible held all together.
Pray as the courts across the nation deal with issues that could affect the lives of a majority Americans.
CURRENT EVENTS
WARS AND TERRORISM
Attacks carried out by the Taliban and other militants in Afghanistan surged by 60 percent in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter, and were overall “above seasonal norms,” the Pentagon said.
A Syrian government shelling has killed seven people, including four children, in Idlib and two nearby towns, holdout rebel enclaves in the country’s northwest, as an 8-month peace agreement brokered by Russia and Turkey has fallen apart.
Pray for efforts to bring peace in Afghanistan and Syria, as peace agreements and negotiations slip away.
FOREIGN INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS
North Korea, Iran, China, Turkey, and Russia are leading charges at the United Nations seeking a review of the United States’ human rights record over issues like systemic racism and immigration policies.
Mexico’s military continues to guard up and down the country’s shared border with the U.S. a year and a half after President Trump’s administration encouraged them to keep migrants from crossing.
Pray that America’s relationships with allies and adversaries will be firm but reconciliatory.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Top officials from Bahrain, Israel, and the UAE held a historic virtual “tourism meet” to discuss new travel and business opportunities following the signing of their peace agreements, the Abraham Accords.
A member of Egypt’s parliament said, in a television address to Palestinians, all Arabs should teach their children that “regardless of what happens, the Zionist enemy will come to an end,” and they must reject Israel.
Pray for the continuation of the true expression of peace with people moving between Israel and Arab nations.
THE ECONOMY
Mortgage rates in the U.S. hit a record low for the 12th time this year amid the coronavirus pandemic, with the average for a 30-year, fixed loan at 2.78 percent, also marking the lowest rate since 1971.
In March, in response to coronavirus employment losses, Congress passed a law that temporarily allows Americans to use their retirement funds, but very few households have rushed out to get those funds to help make ends meet.
Pray for American households as they work on their long-term investment, savings, and indebtedness.
ACROSS THE STATES
Both the governor and governor-elect of Utah signed emergency orders including a statewide mask mandate “for the foreseeable future,” and limits on social gatherings, and an extracurricular activity ban after a spike in coronavirus cases and deaths.
In a Second Amendment referendum, voters in Montana voted to block localities from instituting their own gun restrictions, even though gun-control advocates had outspent supporters by a wide margin.
Pray for state and local health officials as the coronavirus continues to spike across many parts of America.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
This is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. – 1 John 3:11
