February 20th – 26th, 2020
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
Citing a 2005 law for legal support, the Trump Administration is waiving federal contracting laws in order to quicken the pace of building the southern border wall in areas that have high levels of illegal crossings.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is scheduled to testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on U.S. policy in Iran on February 29, giving lawmakers their first opportunity to question the secretary about the death of the top Iranian general in January.
Pray about the strained relationship that exists between the Trump Administration and some members of Congress.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut confirmed that he met privately with Iran’s foreign minister in Munich last week without the knowledge or approval of the State Department. He tweeted, “It’s dangerous not to talk to adversaries, especially amidst a cycle of escalation.”
Representative Jim Banks praised President Trump’s path to a balanced budget, calling it pro-worker, pro-family and pro-growth, a strong response to a challenge from Speaker Nancy Pelosi who said, “Show me your budget, show me your values.”
Pray that the leaders in the House of Representatives would take up the president’s budget and have it approved before the end of the fiscal year.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
A federal court ordered a temporary halt in Microsoft’s work on a $10 billion military contract that Amazon was initially expected to win. The injunction was requested by Amazon last month.
A federal court in Los Angeles ordered the Trump Administration to restore a hotline set up for immigrant detainees that was deactivated after it was featured on an episode of a television show.
Pray about the court rendering decisions on hot-topic political issues.
CURRENT EVENTS
WARS AND TERRORISM
The Afghanistan-based Taliban has surpassed the Islamic State (ISIS) to become the world’s deadliest terrorist nonstate armed group, accounting for more deaths than the next nine deadliest groups combined.
Turkish-backed Syrian rebel opposition forces shot down a Syrian government helicopter just south of Idlib city killing the two pilots. Hours later a retaliatory airstrike hit Idlib, killed 12 civilians, half of them children, and wounding about 30.
Pray for the American diplomats endeavoring to come to a peace agreement with the Taliban.
FOREIGN INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS
An outbreak of billions of locusts continues to swarm parts of East Africa and devour the vital farmland. The UN warned that the region, already suffering from extreme hunger, “simply cannot afford another major shock.”
Sudan’s transitional government has reached a settlement with families of victims of the 2000 attack on the USS Cole in Yemen, in a bid to have their African country taken off the U.S. terrorism list and improve relations with the West.
Pray for the nations of Africa who face threats from nature and from terrorists.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
A leading Iranian politician and adviser to the Ayatollah claimed that his country is actively looking for an excuse to attack Israel. “We would raze Tel Aviv to the ground for sure. We have been looking for such a pretext. If they [the U.S.] do something, we can use it as a pretext to attack Israel.”
The chairman and ranking member of the U.S. Sente Foreign Relations Committee slammed a report by a UN human rights body for blacklisting U.S. companies that operate in the Israeli-controlled parts of the West Bank, calling it unacceptable and “incredibly biased.”
Pray for the safety and security of Israel. Pray for the U.S. relationship with that nation.
THE ECONOMY
A growing number of Americans spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing expenses such as rent and utilities, with the report saying that 20.8 million American renter households are “cost-burdened.”
Credit card debt in the U.S. rose to a record $930 billion in the last quarter of 2019 as Americans spent aggressively amid a strong economy and job market, but serious delinquencies have increased, particularly among younger borrowers.
Pray for young American families seeking to balance their budgets under an increasing load of debt.
ACROSS THE STATES
A bill designed to lower property taxes by boosting state aid for Nebraska’s K-12 public schools advanced out of a legislation committee but will still face opposition when lawmakers debate it.
In an 87-10 vote, the Washington House sent a bill to the Senate that would ban discrimination of students and workers with hairstyles like afros and dreadlocks, and they could not be required to cut or change their hair style or texture.
Pray for state legislators grappling with many issues that affect education problems and solutions.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” – John 14:27
