Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
The U.S. canceled plans to send two warships through Turkish Straits into the Black Sea, Turkey’s foreign minister said. Russia had warned American vessels to stay away from a coastal region of Crimean it annexed in 2014., saying that any American naval deployment in the Black Sea would be considered “extremely provocative.”
President Biden said he will end America’s war in Afghanistan with a phased withdrawal of the remaining U.S. troops there that will conclude by September 11, twenty years after the conflict began. President Trump had initially set a May deadline, and some troops will depart in May, an administration official said, but the additional delay was to give troops more time to prepare and coordinate.
Pray for the morale of American troops. Pray for decisions being made by commanders in the field that they would keep U.S. service members safe.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
A new poll by McLaughlin Associates shows 72 percent of registered voters support the Second Amendment. Additionally, 73.4 percent agreed that the Founding Fathers “understood the importance of law-abiding citizens’ right to legally own firearms for things like hunting, sport and personal protection” and that the Second Amendment is “one of our most important and cherished civil rights in the U.S. Constitution.”
Pray for legislatures and courts as they evaluate new laws and regulations in light of the Constitution and Second Amendment rights.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
The State Department said it will proceed with a $23 billion sale of jet fighters and advanced armed drones made by the previous administration to the United Arab Emirates, despite objections from some partisans and others that the Gulf nation is fueling conflicts around the Middle East. The U.S. will be working with the UAE in the years leading up to the delivery of the weapons to make sure the arms are used in accordance with human rights standards and the laws of war, the State Department said.
The Chinese government is increasing pressure on Taiwan to reunify with the mainland. This comes as Beijing seeks to at least double its nuclear weapons stockpile during the next decade and to pursue overseas military bases. according to intelligence reports on threats facing the U.S, China’s goal is to strengthen its status as a global power.
Pray for America’s diplomatic corps and the work they do with both allies and adversaries.
Pray For AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
About one in five American adults say they will not get a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus, according to a new poll by Monmouth University. The hesitancy of many was exacerbated after federal officials recommended a pause in the administration of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine over rare instances of blood clots in people who received the inoculation.
The White House launched a targeted media campaign to raise awareness about vaccine eligibility and encourage Americans to get vaccinated as states open up doses to all Americans over the age of 16.
Pray for federal, state, and local healthcare officials as shots are administered and any adverse reactions treated and evaluated.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for a new law that would allow the direct election of the nation’s leader as a way to break the nation’s two-year political deadlock. “A vast majority of the public supports it,” he said, adding that a direct vote for prime minister would avoid “assembling absurd governments” and would allow Israeli citizens to choose a leader in “snap elections, without dissolving parliament.”
Israel’s foreign minister said it will do “whatever it takes” to ensure that Iran does not acquire nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Iran says it starting enriching its uranium up to 60 percent, its highest level ever, and close to weapons grade. The move comes after the recent attack on one of its nuclear sites.
Pray for Israel’s security as some neighboring countries threaten the security and stability of the region.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
In a recent research poll, about 38 million Americans responded that they are worse off now than before the coronavirus outbreak began in the U.S. over a year ago. Overall, 55 percent of Americans say their financial circumstances are about the same, 30 percent say they have improved, but 15 percent say they are worse off. The problem is more pronounced at lower-income levels, where 29 percent of Americans who are living below the federal poverty line say their personal finances worsened in the past year.
Consumer prices increased by the most in over 8-1/2 years in March. Rising vaccination numbers and massive fiscal stimulus increased demand, kicking off what economists expect will be a brief period of higher inflation. The Labor Department reported that the broader opening of the economy is running into bottlenecks in the supply chain, capacity constraints, and higher commodity prices.
Pray for federal officials and economists advising Congress and the administration as policies are implemented to adapt to the reopening economy.
Pray for Justice in America
Federal prosecutors said they would not be filing charges against the U.S. Capitol Police officer who shot and killed Ashli Babbitt during the January 6 incident at the Capitol. Babbitt, 35, an Air Force veteran who was part of the protest group, was shot, apparently once at point blank range, on the floor of the Capitol.
A prosecutor in Minnesota charged a former suburban Minneapolis police officer with second-degree manslaughter for killing 20-year-old black motorist Daunte Wright, 20, during a traffic stop. In pulling his records, the officer determined Wright had an arrest warrant. The officer said it was a tragic accident and she thought she was using her taser not her sidearm. She resigned from the force amid newly ignited days of unrest and confrontations between rioters and police.
Pray for the administration of justice by prosecutors across America and for the loved ones of those who have lost their lives.
Pray for Goodness in America
Edward Graham, the grandson of the late evangelist Billy Graham, says shoeboxes filled with gifts are reaching more children and unreached people with the Gospel than the massive global evangelistic events his grandfather held over decades. Gift shoeboxes from Operation Christmas Child, a project many American churches and individuals take part in, are sent to over 160 nations, including 50 hard-to-reach areas.
Pray with gratitude for the opportunity of many Americans to participate in reaching children with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Pray for America’s Media
Americans’ distrust of the press goes deeper than partisanship and comes down to the way journalists define their very mission, according to a new study from the Media Insight Project. “The study defined five core principles or beliefs that drive most journalists. And it found that non-journalists offer unqualified majority support for only one of them—the idea that the press should provide people with facts,” the report stated.
Pray for media leaders and journalists in America to value accurately reporting facts and to seek the truth.
Pray for America’s Education
A lawsuit filed against the U.S. Department of Education by LGBTQ students claims that Christian universities that receive federal funding yet impose traditional, Bible-based moral rules on their students have “discriminatory practices.”
“Education is not the equalizer that many people think it is,” said an associate professor of sociology and author of a recent study at North Carolina State University. “One takeaway is that expanding access to education is valuable, but education alone is not enough to resolve our society’s challenges in regard to inequality. … There is still a lot of room for additional research on this subject.”
Pray for the decision-makers over America’s higher education as philosophical challenges to free speech and freedom of religion continue to be raised.
Pray for America’s Technology
Automakers are expanding and extending production cuts at some North American plans as they cope with a worsening global shortage of semiconductors. Chips for use in cars and trucks have been harder to come by as semiconductor makers have allocated more capacity to consumer products. The White House had a virtual CEO summit where executives from auto, tech, biotech, and consumer electronics industries discussed the semiconductor chip shortage. The president is backing proposals for tax incentives for American manufacturers to make the critical parts in the U.S. to avoid shortages in the future.
The Department of Justice announced that the FBI has launched an operation to remove malware from computers in the U.S., saying the agency would “copy and remove” so-called web shells, or “pieces of code or scripts that enable remote administration.” These are part of authorization by a court in Texas for the FBI to fix malware in hundreds of hacked servers in the U.S. running certain versions of Microsoft Exchange Server Software.
Pray for the U.S. government and the authorization of malware removal. Also, pray for American companies getting more involved in the manufacture of microchips.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Hawaii Governor David Inge approved a “vaccine passport” program for inter-island travel that could begin as early as May and expand to out-of-state travel by summer. The program is seen by tourism officials as a way to speed up the state’s economic recovery from the coronavirus.
The Tennessee Senate passed a ban on government-issued “vaccine passports” to show that someone has received a coronavirus vaccine. The bill would also take public health powers away from local county boards. The bill now moves to the state’s House.
Pray for state legislators, governors, and health departments as they consider vaccine passports, mask mandates, and otherwise deal with the still-present coronavirus.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“We need to teach [our children] that every human life is valuable, regardless of race, age, ethnic background, or socioeconomic status. Genesis 1:27 says, ‘So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them’ (NIV).
If I say that all people are created in the image of God, then I have to demonstrate that belief through my actions. … I am yearning for that future Martin Luther King Jr. dreamed about, when people in our nation ‘will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.’ Our children can make that future a reality. It’s within our power to teach them to see the inherent worth and dignity of others.” – Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, lead pastor, New Season Christian Worship Center, Sacramento, California
