Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Russian President Putin is engaged in “reckless, dangerous nuclear saber-rattling.” The secretary of state made his remarks at the start of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference at the United Nations, warning that the landmark deal is “under increasing strain” due not only to the actions of Russia but also of North Korea and Iran. He urged Moscow to live up to its nuclear arms control commitments.
The Treasury Department announced the creation of a new Climate Data and Analytics Hub, which will provide data, software, and computing tools for regulators to assess the risks that climate change poses to the U.S. economy.
Pray that administration officials would have their hearts drawn to the Lord and that they would seek His wisdom as they deal with serious risks posed by nations like China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
Senator James Lankford of Oklahoma, who recently visited the U.S.-Mexico border, warned that President Biden’s online asylum system is an “open invitation for Chinese spies” and all of Yemen to enter the U.S. Under the emerging plans, asylum seekers “can just say, ‘I have a credible fear,’ fly into the country, be here for eight years while they await their hearing,” the senator said.
Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Alex Padilla of California wrote Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Transportation Department general counsel John Putnam urging them to implement regulations against the airline industry as flight delays, cancellations, and prices have increased.
Pray for members of Congress who will be on August recess for the next several weeks.
PRAY FOR CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
The Senate Appropriations Committee is proposing $850 billion in total national defense spending for fiscal 2023, as part of its nearly $1.7 trillion spending package unveiled last week. The bulk of the funds would come from the proposed defense authorization bill, which would appropriate $792.1 billion for the Department of Defense, $63.6 billion above what was enacted for fiscal year 2022.
The House Committee on Oversight and Reform released a report detailing profits by the gun industry on AR-15 style rifles, calling the firearms “the weapons of choice for murderers responsible for America’s deadly mass shootings.” The report coincided with a hearing by the committee on the “practices and profits of gun manufacturers” featuring industry executives.
Pray that for discernment for congressional committees to ease and not add to inflationary pressures on taxpayers.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
The government and publisher Penguin Random House delivered opening remarks in the antitrust trial before the D.C. federal district court. The Justice Department seeks to prohibit the biggest book publisher from absorbing rival Simon & Schuster in a key test of the antitrust policy of President Biden’s administration.
The Maryland U.S. District Court is hearing the case against the man charged with the attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. According to the FBI, the man researched how to commit an assassination and planned on “shooting for 3” justices in the weeks prior to traveling to the Washington, D.C. area.
Pray for wisdom for federal judges and the Supreme Court justices as they hear and decide the cases before them. And pray for the justices to be protected from harassment.
