Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
The U.S. is willing to send troops to NATO allies if Russia invades Ukraine. A spokesman for the White House said, “The U.S. would be prepared to provide that kind of reassurance” to allies who want it in the event of an attack, pointing to a similar deployment after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.
A new report shows that at least hundreds and possibly thousands of U.S. military explosives have been stolen or lost by the armed forces over the last ten years. The investigation revealed the military failed to secure weapons and that troops falsified records to cover up thefts. Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Uriah Orland said the number was small, “but it doesn’t mean that we don’t take seriously that it happened.”
Pray for President Biden, Defense Secretary Austin, and U.S. military advisers as they keep a close watch on both Russia regarding Ukraine and China regarding Taiwan.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
Eighty percent of Protestant pastors say their church has some security measures in place, according to Max Sevillia for the Anti-Defamation League. He said, “The threat of violence is now a tragic feature of religious life in America, forcing many faith leaders to become ad hoc security planners. But safety, and all that entails, is an expensive and complex process that most houses of worship simply cannot afford.”
Pray that the protections of the right to assemble and right of free speech would be maintained in churches, and that God would hold back those who would do violence to churches and worshippers.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said China’s pursuit of hypersonic weapons “increases tensions in the region.” He pledged to continue to maintain the capabilities to defend and deter against a range of potential threats from the PRC to the U.S. and its allies.
Talks to revive the Iran nuclear deal stalled with Western allies warning the effort was a step closer to collapse after Tehran’s negotiating team barely inched from its tough stance over a grueling week of negotiations. They said talks had done nothing to persuade them that Iran will make the compromises they say are necessary to restore the 2015 deal.
Pray for those in the State Department, including personnel serving in embassies and consulates abroad, to be safe and secure as they represent U.S. interests.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the use of Eli Lilly’s COVID-19 dual-antibody therapy in treating mild to moderate symptoms in all children, including newborns, who are risk of severe illness.
U.S. health officials said that while the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is rapidly spreading throughout the country, early indications suggest it may be less dangerous than Delta, which continues to drive a surge of hospitalizations.
Pray for families who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus and its variants as they face the Christmas season without them this year.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution about Jerusalem that only referenced the Temple Mount by its Muslim name, “al-Haram al-Sharif.” The resolution called for “upholding unchanged the historic status quo of the Haram al-Sharif,” and called any actions by Israel to impose its laws on the city of Jerusalem “illegal.” The U.S. opposed the resolution saying it is “morally, historically and politically wrong for members of this body to support language that denies” both Jewish and Christian ties to the Temple Mount, which is the holiest site in Judaism.
Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is urging countries to be wary when dealing with Iran, stressing that Iran cannot continue to violate agreements while trying to negotiate new ones, and further urging countries to take a strong stance against Iran in any revival of the nuclear agreement.
Pray for the security of Israel as many forces come against it in varied ways.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
The Labor Department reported that new claims for unemployment benefits rose the last week of November from the lowest level in more than 50 years. It still remains below pre-pandemic levels after adjustments for seasonal factors.
A new survey of economists by the National Association for Business Economics shows inflation is expected to increase in the fourth quarter and stay elevated for years. Experts do not anticipate annual inflation to fall below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target until the second half of 2023 or later.
Pray for the officials that lead the Department of Labor and the Federal Reserve.
Pray for Justice in America
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said the root cause of the spike in organized retail crime is the COVID-19 pandemic. She added that the administration is working with a number of communities in the nation to address crime in those neighborhoods. She said the president has called for funding to “increase and support local police departments, to make sure we keep cops on the beat, and we ensure that local communities are working in partnership to crack down on crime and any dangers they see in their community.” Looters have been targeting stores across the nation in recent weeks, robbing retailers of tens of thousands of dollars in merchandise in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, New York, and Minneapolis.
Pray for America’s law enforcement officers as they are on the front lines of the justice system and too often disrespected.
Pray for Goodness in America
An interracial group of pastors and faith leaders participated in the kickoff of the “Let’s Talk” initiative, which will bring Christian leaders nationwide together beginning this month, to discuss racism and inequality and “come up with practical solutions to the crisis,” according to Rev. Lee Jenkins, pastor and founder of Eagles Nest Church in Atlanta. The gathering was held at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C.
Pray for church and faith leaders to seek God’s direction as they look for solutions to racial issues and teach believers how to love one another.
Pray for America’s Education
The labor shortage that has affected many companies across the U.S. is being significantly felt by schools that are dealing with shortages of teachers, substitute teachers, and school bus drivers. Some school districts are increasing wages and offering sign-on bonuses. Concerns about the COVID-19 virus and opposition to vaccine mandates, wearing masks, and testing have created a reluctance to work in schools.
In an “Open Letter on K-12 Mathematics,” hundreds of mathematicians and scientists have signed a statement calling on educators to abandon “well-intentioned” efforts to close achievement gaps in math education, saying it could have “unintended consequences.” They are pushing back against efforts to reform math education due to achievement gaps that often fall upon racial lines. Some activists and educators say the reforms are necessary to achieve racial equity due to those racially disparate achievement levels.
Pray for leaders in the Department of Education as they look for ways to address the very real needs of the nation’s educators and school administration staff.
Pray for America’s Technology
Cybersecurity directives for freight and passenger rail have been issued by the Transportation Security Administration requiring those systems to report certain cybersecurity incidents to the Department of Homeland Security within 24 hours of discovery. The orders, which will affect about 80 percent of all rail travel, seek to bolster security for critical transit considered at high risk for cyberattack.
Pray for hardware and software engineers to work on establishing higher levels of cybersecurity.
Pray for Needs Across the States
The Oregon Health Authority met with various stakeholders, such as those in the restaurant and hospitality industry, and other businesses, to discuss making the current indoor mask mandate permanent.
Kansas will receive nearly $17.6 million from a legal settlement with the company that manages prescription costs for its Medicaid program, after an investigation into whether the company had overcharged the state after negotiating discounts from drug companies and failing to notify Kansas or pass along the savings.
Pray for wisdom for state and civic authorities in dealing with vaccine and mask mandates.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“The world is not moved by love or actions that are of human creation. And the church is not empowered to live differently from any other gathering of people without the Holy Spirit. But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in their lives is supernatural. The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice.” – Francis Chan, Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit
