Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
The Pentagon has not yet required service members to get the COVID-19 vaccine, but Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby indicated in a briefing that full FDA approval could change how the military’s leadership looks at the matter.
The U.S. and South Korea began joint military exercises this week and training should continue through March 18. The training could be reduced in scale due to the coronavirus pandemic and could be similar to the ones conducted last year that mostly involved training centered on computer-simulated war scenarios.
Pray for the nation’s military leaders as they make decisions regarding the health and readiness of the troops.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
A voting rights advocacy group led by a coalition of athletes is launching a new national campaign to combat voter suppression. This comes in response to state legislatures across the country working to advance legislation to secure ballot access. Various professional athletes say disproportionately affects minority voters.
Pray for the protection of every American’s right to vote, and for legislatures to address issues of election security and integrity.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
Secretary of State Tony Blinken singled out the United States’ relationship with China as the main overseas focus of the president’s administration and said the country posed “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.
Iran has given recent indications of being open to informal talks with world powers and the United States after European leaders decided not to criticize Tehran at a UN watchdog meeting. Though Iran had previously refused to take part in a meeting to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, a French diplomat said “things are moving in the right direction.”
Pray for wisdom for U.S. diplomats as they navigate international threats and seek to retain America’s security and sovereignty.
Pray For AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Recent declines in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations, and deaths show signs of the virus stalling, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that the country is at a “critical nexus” in the pandemic. “Stamina has worn thin,” CDC Director Walensky said, voicing concerns that measures to stop the virus are being ignored.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionate impact on the income and economic opportunities of women. She called for long-term measures to improve labor market conditions for women in the workplace.
Pray for national and state health officials who are contending with the ongoing pandemic as well as its after-effects.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
State Department spokesman Ned Price said the president’s administration opposes and is disappointed with the decision by the International Criminal Court to pursue an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories. Affirming U.S. support for Israel, Price said the ICC has “no jurisdiction over this matter,” which he said “unfairly” targets the Jewish state.
Israeli authorities said that a Libyan-owned tanker suspected of smuggling oil from Iran to Syria is responsible for spilling tons of crude into the eastern Mediterranean. This event has created one of Israel’s worst environmental disasters, causing damage and forcing the closure of beaches and a ban on the sale of seafood from the sea.
Pray for the peace and the protection of Israel.
Pray for THE AMERICAN ECONOMY
Company payrolls in America rose by 117,000 during the month of February. This missed expectations and underscores the labor market’s struggle to recover despite a decline in COVID-19 infections in recent weeks. Payrolls increased in service jobs, while goods-producing businesses, including manufacturing, saw a decrease in jobs.
President Biden said the next round of direct stimulus payments to households would start yet this month. The payments are $1,400 per household member, including adults, children, and adult dependents such as college students and elderly relatives, under parameters of income levels set by Congress.
Pray for businesses that are beginning to reestablish themselves following pandemic lockdowns.
Pray for Justice in America
Federal prosecutors have dismissed 31 of the 90 cases stemming from last summer’s violent protests in downtown Portland, Oregon, when protesters clashed with federal agents. Some of the more serious charges dropped include four who were charged with assaulting a federal officer, a felony. Last summer, the U.S. Attorney for Oregon vowed there would be consequences for the nightly graffiti, fires, and vandalism outside the U.S. Courthouse.
Pray for the judges who are ruling on criminal actions taken under the claims of free-speech.
Pray for Goodness in America
A family-owned pizzeria in New Jersey, in business for 40 years, is helping feed community members in need. Over the past year, they estimate they have fed nearly 168,000 people who are jobless due to the coronavirus lockdowns. “If we can help, we will,” said the manager who runs the business with his father.
Pray for Americans to increasingly extend goodness and kindness to one another.
Pray for America’s Education
A high school principal has filed suit against his school district in Tennessee. He was suspended from his position following the showing of a video in which he urged students to be wary of constraints on freedom of speech and thought. He said that, in America, “we talk about the marketplace of ideas.”
A new study by the Center for the Study of Partisanship and Ideology revealed that about 70 to 80 percent of conservative academics in higher education in the U.S. and Canada reported a “hostile” work environment. They say this stems from colleagues with opposing political beliefs actively discouraging them from “pursuing academic careers.”
Pray for those standing for academic freedoms in America, and the need for the free exchange and exploration of ideas.
Pray for America’s Technology
The available supply of microchips has been falling for months, leaving manufacturers of all kinds in the lurch. Shortages have forced General Motors and Ford to slash production in three states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. The White House is leaning on big chip producers and their host nations, including Taiwan, to increase output, but the shortfall is expected to grow.
A Taiwanese supplier says the current chip shortages is likely to last beyond this year. The high demand for semiconductors may persist for some time. Chip shortages are expected to cost $6 billion of sales for automakers and delay the production of a million vehicles in the second quarter, but the fallout now threatens to hit the much larger electronics industry.
Samsung Electronics Co. revealed details in a filing it made with the Texas government for its plans to build a cutting-edge semiconductor facility in the U.S. The South Korean company plans to invest about $17 billion in the project that will create about 1,800 jobs over the first ten years. In addition to Texas, Samsung is evaluating sites in Arizona, New York, and Korea.
Pray for the officials and businesses attempting to address the shortages in microchips and increase output within the U.S.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Lawmakers in Missouri have introduced a proposal that would ban foreign companies from buying more farmland in Missouri, calling it a national security issue as well as a food security matter.
Legislators in at least a dozen states are seeking to nullify any new federal gun control laws. Among them is Utah, where the House passed a bill forbidding the enforcement of federal gun laws that may attempt to dilute the Second Amendment.
Pray for wisdom for state legislators as they work to protect the rights, freedoms and needs of their citizens.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“When the people of God come in agreement, they have authority in the territory to challenge the gates of hell and see some measure of healing and revival spring forth.” – Dr. Lance Wallnau, Truth and Liberty Coalition, Colorado Springs, Colorado
