Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
President Biden’s administration imposed its first sanctions over North Korea’s weapons program following a series of North Korean missile launches, including two earlier this month. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called the tests profoundly destabilizing and dangerous, adding that the U.S. and its allies are focused on making sure they are protected and that there are repercussions for the North’s missile activity.
Michael Carpenter, the U.S. Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, issued a warning amid Russia’s military buildup on the border with Ukraine and the failed diplomat talks in Geneva, saying, “We’re facing a crisis in European security. The drumbeat of war is sounding loud, and the rhetoric has gotten rather shrill.”
Pray for the president and his national security advisers as they keep a close watch on the activities of Russia, North Korea, China, and Iran.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
The Senate voted down proposed legislation to sanction entities associated with Russia’s controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The sanctions were intended to make it clear to the Kremlin that the U.S. would not stand idly by as Russia threatens Ukraine.
A bipartisan group of seven senators traveled to Ukraine to meet with President Zelensky and other officials, as friction between Kyiv and Moscow intensifies. They said they made the trip to “confirm the U.S. commitment to Ukraine, which continues to face an increasingly belligerent Russia.”
Pray for the leaders in Congress as they affirm U.S. support of allies and actions toward adversaries.
PRAY FOR CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
The House select committee formed to investigate the January 6 incident at the U.S. Capitol faces a decision on how far it will go in handling lawmakers who refuse to voluntarily speak to the panel or provide it with information. Representatives Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Jim Jordan of Ohio, both sitting members of Congress from whom the committee has requested further information, so far have said they will not comply.
Pray for this investigatory committee as they determine the scope of reach that Congress has in such investigations.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a high school football coach’s appeal challenging his firing for holding on-field prayers after games in a case that could have implications on First Amendment rights for government employees.
The First Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that there is no constitutional right to an adequate civics education, denying an appeal by students in Providence, Rhode Island, who argued that the Constitution entitles all public school students to a civics education that prepares them to meaningfully and effectively participate in a democracy.
Pray for the Supreme Court justices as more cases address individual freedoms and choices.
