December 24th – December 30th, 2020
PRAY FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS ADMINISTRATION
The Treasury Department is proposing new requirements involving convertible virtual currencies that would require banks and other intermediaries to maintain records and submit reports to verify customer identities for certain transactions.
The Department of Energy finalized its rollback of standards for showerheads to allow increased water flow and a new class of quick-cycle washers and driers that lower energy efficiency to “safeguard consumer choice,” the Energy Secretary said.
Pray for the president and members of his administration as the end of 2020 approaches.
PRAY FOR OUR CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
Congress passed a broad bill in support of America’s veterans which is the “culmination of two years of bipartisan work,” according to Representative Phil Roe of Tennessee. The bill passed by voice vote with no objections.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff of California called on Congress to undertake “urgent work” to defend critical networks in the wake of a massive cyber-espionage attack on the U.S. government, reportedly by a Russian military group.
Pray for members of Congress as they leave Washington for their Christmas holiday break to remain safe and COVID-free as they share time with families and constituents.
PRAY FOR OUR JUDICIARY
The Supreme Court rejected as untimely an appeal from a Kentucky Christian school to be exempt from state orders to stop in-person classes amid rising coronavirus cases since the governor’s order will soon expire.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to defend its limits on education-related non-cash compensation for college basketball and football players, but the case does not focus on contentious issues of pay for college athletes.
Pray for the Supreme Court justices as they consider and rule on cases that involve America’s youth.
CURRENT EVENTS
WARS AND TERRORISM
Mercenaries backed by the Kremlin “fuel the conflict” in Libya as Russia seeks to gain influence across the Mediterranean basin, according to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who said Russia continues to threaten Mediterranean stability, including through disinformation and sowing division.
Boko Haram has Nigeria reeling from a mass kidnapping of more than 300 boys from a boarding school in the Northwest, saying it has seized them in punishment for “un-Islamic practices,” six years after the abduction of 276 schoolgirls. [The boys have since been freed; telling of beatings and hunger.]
Pray for U.S. officials and allies responding to the increased influence of both Russia and China on the African continent.
FOREIGN INTERESTS AND CONFLICTS
Russia test-fired an anti-satellite missile in its pursuit to turn space into a “warfighting domain,” the U.S. Space Command’s leader announced, adding that Moscow is looking to “exploit U.S. reliance on space-based systems.”
The International Criminal Court will not open an investigation into China’s repression of Uighur Muslims due to a lack of “justification” in the case, saying they are “not in a position to review China.”
Pray for American military and diplomats dealing with the increasing tensions between the U.S. and both Russia and China.
ISRAEL AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that a mutation of the coronavirus is spreading across the nation and that he has placed a ban on foreign nationals entering the country for at least ten days.
The Israel Missile Defense Organization and U.S. Missile Defense Agency for the first time demonstrated a multi-layered air defense system using the Iron Dome, David’s Sling and Arrow weapon systems by which “a variety of threats may be identified and intercepted,” the MDO chief said.
Pray for the people of Israel as they may soon be looking at another election for their nation’s leadership.
THE ECONOMY
For the fifteenth time during 2020, mortgage rates dropped to another record low—not seen for nearly 50 years, as a 30-year fixed loan slipped to 2.67 percent, helping to fuel a housing rally.
Many small business owners believe the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is still ahead of them, with half saying their operations would permanently close within a year unless the business environment improves.
Pray that the treatments, therapeutics, and vaccines would decrease coronavirus cases so the economy can stabilize and strengthen.
ACROSS THE STATES
An independent council has upheld a decision by Wyoming environmental regulators to grant a mining permit to a coal technology company, making it the state’s first new coal mine to open in decades.
The Federal Bureau of Land Management said it will remove nearly 750 square miles from its earlier oil-and-gas lease sale for a part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, but began taking bids for the rest of the land.
Pray for state land management officials and others in state government working to balance economic and environmental issues.
VERSE OF THE WEEK
This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. – Luke 2:12
