Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
Scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research announced they have developed a vaccine effective against COVID-19 and all its variants, including Omicron and previous SARS-origin viruses. They say the remarkable achievement comes after nearly two years of work on the virus.
Japan and the United States have agreed Tokyo will pay about 1.55 trillion yen ($13.64 billion) over a five-year period beginning in April next year for hosting U.S. military troops.
Pray for America’s military, the vaccine mandates that have been placed upon them, and the numbers who have been discharged for refusing to get the vaccine.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
Students and scholars in the United States from China who criticize the regime in Beijing can face quick retaliation from fellow students and Chinese officials who harass their families back home. U.S. universities rarely intervene. U.S. law enforcement agencies have struggled to respond because much of the censorship and harassment occurs in a legal gray area, and victims are often frightened or do not believe anyone can help. U.S. universities receive $billions in donations from mainland China, according to the Department of Education.
Pray for wisdom for U.S. officials dealing with freedoms for visitors, including students and scholars, from other countries, and whether those freedoms should be protected by U.S. law enforcement.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
The U.S. formally exempted American and UN officials doing critical business with the Taliban from U.S. sanctions. A proposed UN plan that would pay $6 million to the Islamic group for security has not yet been included in the exemptions.
The U.S. has named an Under Secretary of State as special coordinator for Tibet, who will lead U.S. efforts to preserve religious, cultural, and linguistic heritage of the Tibetans in the face of human rights abuses by China. The action has drawn warnings from Beijing to stay out of its internal affairs.
Pray for effective diplomatic relations between the U.S. and adversarial nations.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
A deadly new class of synthetic opioids has been identified in cities across the U.S. at a time when fatal drug overdose rates are soaring. Forensic scientists have identified nitazenes on streets throughout the country. These new drugs have proven even stronger (ten times more potent) than fentanyl, the synthetic opioid the extreme potency of which is responsible for the majority of deadly overdoses in the U.S.
According to a new report issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics, life expectancy in the U.S. has decreased by almost two years, mostly because of COVID-19. The current life expectancy is 77 years. This represents the biggest drop since World War II.
Pray for American families who have experienced losses this year due to drug overdoses or the coronavirus.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
Christian leaders in Israel are concerned that their legacy and heritage are being threatened by local “radical groups” that are attempting to push Christians out of Israel. “Despite two thousand years of faithful service, our presence is precarious, and our future is at risk,” writes Fr. Francesco Patton, the Catholic Church’s Custos of the Holy Land.
A hospital in Israel is set to administer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine booster to some 150 healthcare workers to see how effective and safe another shot may be as cases continue to increase there.
Pray for Christians in Israel to be shining examples of a life lived with Christ.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
Richmond, Virginia, recorded the highest percentage of offers in housing bidding wars even as competition at the national level slowed somewhat with the cooler weather. Salt Lake City, Utah, had the second highest rate of bidding wars, followed by San Diego, Honolulu, and Dallas.
General Mills, maker of Betty Crocker cake mixes and Cheerios cereal, among many others, announced they are raising prices further in coming months as they grapple with what they say is an unprecedented combination of cost inflation and supply-chain disruptions.
Pray for U.S. officials as they seek solutions to the inflationary pressures that are increasing.
Pray for Justice in America
The U.S. Department of Justice will award $1.6 billion in grants to support a wide range of programs designed to reduce violent crime and strengthen communities. Attorney General Merrick Garland said, “This latest round of funding will deliver critical public safety resources, helping public safety professionals, victim service providers, local agencies, and nonprofit organizations confront these serious challenges.”
Pray for states and communities receiving federal grants to make wise use of money intended to improve the enforcement of laws.
Pray for Goodness in America
A U.S. Army Veteran in Florida has donated $96,000 over the past three years to help pay off at least 677 residents’ utilities bills, offering solace and kindness to those who have struggled to keep the lights on. “I paid off everybody’s past-due account for a while, like six months straight,” he said. “Nobody had anything disconnected.”
Give thanks for major acts of kindness delivered by fellow Americans, but also with thankfulness for the smaller but just as needed kind deeds done in the name of Jesus.
Pray for America’s Education
A Harvard University professor, one of America’s top chemists and Nobel prize winner, was found guilty by a federal jury of lying to the U.S. government about his close ties to China. He had misled investigators about his ties to the Thousand Talents Program of China (a Chinese government recruitment program) and through his tax returns in an effort to conceal his financial earnings.
The author of the 119 Project is being called out for saying she did not understand why parents should be in charge of their children’s education. The executive director of a political action committee said that the education system is “based on the concept that parents and teachers work together for the education of the student. The idea that parents shouldn’t have a role in that process is anathema to our systems of education and government.”
Pray for integrity to be maintained by educators at every level, and that parents would stay involved and active in what their students are being taught.
Pray for America’s Technology
Recent polling shows that the majority—about 72 percent—of internet users do not trust Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram with their data, saying the social media companies do not “responsibly handle” their personal information.
Pray for more responsible handling of personal data by large technology companies.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey said the state has agreed to pay $53 million to the families of 119 residents of the New Jersey Veterans memorial Home and the Paramus Veterans Memorial Homes, most of whom died from COVID-19, settling claims that officials at those facilities and others acted with gross negligence in handling the outbreak, according to nursing home and infection control standards.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation that makes falsifying a coronavirus vaccine card in New York a Class A misdemeanor and tampering with computer records related to vaccinations a Class E felony.
Pray for state governors, legislators, health departments and others as they continue to handle problems caused by the pandemic.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“Jesus prayed before he ate. He prayed for children. He prayed for the sick. He prayed with thanks. He prayed with tears. He made the planets and shaped the stars, yet he prayed. He is the Lord of angels and Commander of heavenly hosts, yet he prayed. He is coequal with God, the exact representation of the Holy One, and yet he devoted himself to prayer. He prayed in the desert, cemetery, and garden. ‘He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there he prayed’ (Mark 1:35). …
We speak. He listens. He speaks. We listen. This is prayer in its purest form. God changes his people through such moments.” – Max Lucado, Before Amen, 2014
