Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
The Pentagon said it has streamlined the approval process for urgent use of National Guard forces in the District of Columbia, after months of study following the incidents of January 6 at the U.S. Capitol last year. The changes give the Defense Secretary more authority to approve requests that would involve the National Guard.
The defense spending act has made hypersonics a top priority, calling for investing billions into hypersonic research and development. China, Russia and North Korea all claim to have developed and successfully tested hypersonic missiles. According to the Rand Corp., hypersonic technology creates a new class of threat that could change the nature of warfare.
Pray for America’s military leadership on every level, at every rank, and in every branch.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
A North Carolina sheriff is standing his ground against a group of atheists who are demanding that a Bible verse be taken down from a wall inside the sheriff’s department. The sheriff acknowledged the pushback from the atheist group over the display of Philippians 4:3, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me,“ and said, “Here in the Sheriff’s Office, we work hard in everything that we do. Before we execute a search warrant or any service that puts our people in immediate harms way, we ALWAYS go to the Lord with a group prayer. ALWAYS.”
Pray for men and women of faith who serve in public office to be able to continue to freely express themselves without government interference.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
Satellite images, social media posts, and flight-tracking data allow analysts to track details the government tries to keep classified about Russia’s military buildup near Ukraine. New images are showing new arrivals of tanks and personnel with nearly 100,000 Russian troops amassed near the Ukrainian border. Satellite images show infantry fighting vehicles, battle tanks, and self-propelled guns, among other things.
A Beijing official warned that China will take “drastic measures” if Taiwan makes moves towards independence. He added that Taiwan’s provocations and outside meddling could intensify in the new year.
Pray for Secretary of State Antony Blinken, others at the State Department, and especially members of the diplomatic corps.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
America’s Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy says the pandemic has produced an epidemic of mental health challenges for young people. “Even before the pandemic,” he says, “an alarming number of young people struggled with feelings of helplessness, depression and thoughts of suicide—and rates have increased over the past decade. The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school, and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating.”
Elder abuse has spread across America, stoked by the pandemic, as older people are falling victim to fraud, physical violence, and neglect as family isolation and staffing shortages at nursing homes or with home health care erode safeguards that might otherwise be available.
Pray for Americans at both ends of the age spectrum to be safe, to find relief from depression and anxiety, and to be treated with dignity and respect.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas had a two-and-a-half-hour meeting at the Gantz home. Their discussions focused mainly on security coordination and economic cooperation, and Gantz presented Abbas with a series of measures Israel will take to boost the Palestinian economy, including a $30 million loan to the Palestinian Authority.
The Defense Ministry of Syria has accused Israel striking its main commercial port on the Mediterranean with missiles, causing large fires and major damage in the second such attack on the vital facility in a month.
Pray for the relationship the Israeli government has with the Palestinian Authority.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
Home-price growth continued to accelerate although at a slower rate during the final quarter of 2021, reinforcing the notion that the housing market is cooling over a year of frenzied sales. Prices still represent the fourth-largest ever annual increase over 34 years of data history.
The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits fell below 200,000 for the week that ended on Christmas, more evidence that the job market remains strong in the aftermath of last year’s coronavirus recession. The number suggests that the Omicron variant has yet to trigger a wave of layoffs.
Pray for U.S. economic advisors and Treasury officials as they assess the markets and provide recommendations to the president.
Pray for Goodness in America
Employees of a health marketing agency were each given $100 this holiday season, but there was one catch: they had to give it away. They were told to be creative, to “do it by yourself, do it with your family, do it in teams, do it in entire groups,” but make a difference. Reports on their activities were compiled into the company’s annual holiday video.
Pray for a spirit of generosity, toward neighbors or others in need, to spread throughout the nation in this new year.
Pray for America’s Media
Twitter has suspended a key architect of mRNA technology that has helped propel COVID vaccines to early use who has become a vocal critic of COVID-19 mandates and regulations. The physician-scientist who has worked in the field of infectious disease countermeasures is said to have had more than a half million followers.
Pray for discernment for government officials as they consider regulations about the censorship occurring by private technology companies.
Pray for America’s Education
According to a new study by clinical psychiatrists at Brown University, forced COVID isolation and face masks is lowering intelligence in children, creating a generation of children with lower IQs and deficient social skills, effects that are similar to those of child abuse.
A U.S. District Court judge said the federal government cannot impose mask or vaccine mandates for staff or students in Head Start programs in Texas, issuing a preliminary injunction while a case challenging the rule proceeds through the legal system.
Pray for the wellbeing of America’s schoolchildren—physical, mental and emotional—and for those who still have to deal with COVID restrictions.
Pray for America’s Technology
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has warned that manufacturing organizations are at higher risk of being targeted by hackers during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that attacks could increase due to more remote work, which has expanded the threat surface for hackers to exploit.
Pray for greater safety in America’s cybersecurity systems, both in government and in the private sector.
Pray for Needs Across the States
A Hawaii state official says that the Navy’s Red Hill underground fuel storage facility is a “ticking time bomb,” as both sides grapple with the fallout of a leak that contaminated an important source of drinking water.
Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said he would consider stronger bail laws after a career criminal allegedly plowed into a Christmas parade in November, killing six and injuring over 60, after being released on $1,000 bail. He said that all “stakeholders” would have to participate in any potential reforms.
Pray for state and city officials to have wisdom regarding prison reforms and for prosecutors to be discerning about the deterrent of higher bail amounts upon the activities of “career” criminals.
