Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
Despite a warning from local militias, the Pentagon said U.S. forces will remain in Iraq after the scheduled end of combat operations on December 31. They said U.S. forces will “remain in Iraq, at the invitation of the Government of Iraq, in an advising, assisting, and intelligence-sharing role to support the Iraqi Security Forces in the campaign to defeat ISIS.”
The U.S. Defense Department will be upgrading and expanding military facilities in Guam and Australia, underscoring its focus on China as the nation’s leading defense rival, while at the same time maintaining forces in the Middle East and adding 1,000 National Guard forces in Africa.
Pray for America’s Armed Forces deployed abroad and for their families who hope for their safe return.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
The Supreme Court has agreed to take a case to decide whether Boston, which allows many kinds of groups to raise flags outside its City Hall, can reject one bearing the Christian cross. The city rejected the flag saying it would amount to government endorsement of religion. The group promoting the flag sued, arguing that the city’s decision violated its First Amendment right to free speech. The case will be heard in January.
Pray for the Supreme Court and other courts across the country to uphold the freedoms and rights bestowed by the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
Russia’s defense chief has signed a “roadmap” for closer military ties with China, citing the increasingly frequent U.S. strategic bomber flights near both countries’ borders and “conditions of increasingly geopolitical turbulence and growing conflict potential in various parts of the world.”
Talks resumed this week in an attempt to give a restart to an Iran nuclear deal. Parties to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action convened in Vienna, but the U.S. and its allies are unsure on how Tehran’s new government will approach the negotiations. They are not optimistic about the prospects ahead, emphasizing that if diplomacy fails, the U.S. is “prepared to use other options,” according to Brett McGurk, the National Security Council’s coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa.
Pray for officials in the State and Defense Departments to have discernment in dealing with China, Russia, Iran, and other nations that pose a threat to the U.S. or its allies.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Some hospitals, nursing homes, and other healthcare providers are preparing to operate without up to a third of their staff at the beginning of next year if those workers do not comply with a federal mandate to get vaccinated against COVID-19. All facilities that receive funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services are required to have workers vaccinated by January 4, per a directive from President Biden’s administration.
Pray for officials in the federal government agencies who oversee the health and well-being of American citizens.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said that Israel will not be bound by any new nuclear deal with Iran. “We hope the world does not blink, but if it does, we do not intend to. We stand at the outset of a complex period,” he said. New talks involving the parties to the 2015 nuclear deal began this week in Vienna, Austria.
Morocco and Israel signed a defense memorandum of understanding in Rabat, opening the way for possible military sales and cooperation after the countries upgraded diplomatic ties last year.
Pray for the government of Israel and its efforts in maintaining its national security while befriending its neighbors.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
COVID-19, inflation, and the uneven economic recovery have resulted in new reports that Americans are struggling with record amounts of debt, an eye-popping $15 trillion worth. Student loan debt, auto debt, and medical debt are all reaching record levels among Americans that the founder of one major lender calls “tragic.”
Consumer confidence fell in November to the lowest level in nine months because of concerns about high inflation, and optimism could decline further if the new strain of the coronavirus proves to be more resistant to vaccines and spreads widely across the U.S.
Pray for U.S. economists, Treasury, and Federal Reserve members as they evaluate the increasing inflation and make efforts to ameliorate it.
Pray for Goodness in America
High school students in a Rhode Island community worked on charitable projects in a school construction class, banding together to build a bus stop for a local elementary school student who is wheelchair-bound.
Give thanks for students who see they are an important part of their community and act upon it.
Pray for America’s Media
Representative Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming inquired of Facebook about the company’s harmful effects on children. She indicated that the entity has suggested it had done nothing anything wrong, refusing to give access to relevant internal research, and misleading Congress and its users. Facebook responded by pointing to options on their website that parents will likely never actually find or use. She has called out the frustration in the lack of transparency by Facebook and the half-answers they provide to Congress.
Pray for social media site developers, and operators to take more responsibility regarding access to their services by children.
Pray for America’s Education
The Department of Education is looking to end the effort to collect information about allegations of sex crimes by teachers against students. As part of its data collection proposal for 2021-2022, the department’s office for civil rights would no longer ask school districts to report allegations that resulted in the resignation or retirement of teachers.
Federal grant records show the U.S. Department of Education has awarded millions of taxpayer dollars to fund critical race theory training for future educators at colleges across the country under a program called “The Research Institute for Scholars of Equity,” or RISE. Participating students receive a $5,000 stipend, money for food and housing, and a travel allowance.
Pray for officials within the Department of Education, for Secretary Miguel Cardona, and for understanding surrounding their efforts at social engineering within America’s schools.
Pray for America’s Technology
Peter Vincent Pry, the executive director of the Task Force on National and Homeland Security, warned that the United States is vulnerable to an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack from adversaries such as China and time is running out to invest in defending the country from it. The electric grid and other infrastructure, such as communications and transportation systems, water and sewer services, could all be devastated by such an attack, he cautioned.
Pray for U.S. security, technology, and energy officials as they determine steps to protect against the many technological advances that pose a threat to the nation’s security.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Citizens in Nebraska are collecting signatures for a 2022 ballot initiative that would dissolve several key education positions, replacing them with a new office that reports only to the governor. Governor Pete Ricketts has frequently been critical of the state’s school board.
A new program at Alabama A&M University trains and supports black male teachers in an effort to recruit and train male educators of color in that state.
Pray for state agencies and officials overseeing the education of America’s youth.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“God took a great risk when He decided to use primarily Christians in making Himself known to this world. It’s amazing that He uses us to show the world who He is—but He does! … Our belief system is the sum of the assumptions and judgments we hold to be true. It contains what we think about ourselves, what we think about God, what we think about people, and what we think about relationships. From that belief system, we make our plans and our decisions. We interpret other people’s actions. We make meaning out of life experiences, solve problems, pattern our relationships, develop our careers, establish our priorities. This is the heart of the matter. This is your faith… Ask God to find you faithful. Ask Him to mold you into a man or woman who wants always to follow Jesus.“ – Dr. Darryl DelHousaye, Chancellor, Phoenix Seminary, November 2021
