Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
The Army Recruiting Command announced that qualified individuals who join the Army can receive a signing bonus of up to $50,000 if they sign on for a six-year active duty enlistment. The incentive level is based on a number of factors including career field, individual qualifications, and availability for training.
Five states have passed new laws that will allow those collecting military retirement checks to receive the additional benefit of collecting that money tax-free. That brings the total number of states that do not subject military retirement income to their state income tax to 26. Nine others offer a partial exemption.
Pray for active and retired military personnel who experience challenges with subsistence-level incomes.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
The Pretrial Services Agency for the District of Columbia (PSA) is a “federal agency responsible for gathering information about newly arrested defendants and preparing the recommendations considered by the Court in deciding release options.” The agency has announced the creation of a new records system that will store the names and “personal religious information” of all employees who make “religious accommodation requests for religious exemption from the federally mandated vaccination requirement.”
Pray for officials within government and private sector entities who are infringing on privacy and religious liberties by establishing such databases.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
North Korea launched a hypersonic ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan. Seoul claimed it is the North’s most powerful projectile so far. No claims have been made on how far it flew. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a “full ground stop” at all West Coast airports for seven minutes, just moments after the launch.
Both Iran and the Taliban are separately intensifying their threats against the U.S., spurning the diplomatic outreach of President Biden’s administration to both of those regimes.
Pray for wisdom for State Department officials and diplomats as they seek to deescalate conflict across the globe.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
The chief executive of Pfizer said that the coronavirus will continue to circulate for many years to come, but that this current wave should be the last to have to lead to restrictions. He also said the COVID vaccine was “safe and efficient” for children.
The National Institutes of Health released research findings that show an increase in survival rates for extremely preterm infant births. The Neonatal Research Network reported an increase in survival from 76% in 2012 to 78.3% in 2018. “Nearly 49% had no or only mild neurodevelopmental impairment,” the report stated.
Praise God for the increase in viability of preemie infants. Pray for health professionals as the variant surge stresses facilities with staffing shortages.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
The United Nations General Assembly has established a permanent commission of inquiry into Israel, putting Israel under almost perpetual investigation. The executive director of a UN watchdog group said, “No such open-ended investigation has ever been leveled against any other UN member state.”
The Israeli Security Agency foiled an Iranian attempt to recruit Israeli Jewish women to spy for Iran. According to the agency, an Iranian intelligence agent approached the women using a false identity through Facebook and Instagram, presenting himself as a Jewish Iranian. The investigation uncovered three female Jewish immigrants from Iran, along with one man, and they were charged with a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
Pray for U.S. and Israeli officials as antisemitism continues to be expressed around the world.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
Mortgage rates jumped to their highest level in nearly two years, a threat to the nation’s booming housing market. The rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage has risen to 3.45%, the highest since the pandemic struck in March 2020, and comes as the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates for the first time since 2018.
Consumer prices increased 7 percent in the 12 months ending in November, the fastest pace since 1982, solidifying the persistent threat of inflation. Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the ranking member on the Ways and Means Committee, said, “This crushing report shows … spending has pushed … inflation to achieve the highest prices in 40 years, killing family budgets and wiping out three years of wage gains.”
Pray for discernment for U.S. economic advisors as they provide recommendations to the president regarding the American economy.
Pray for Justice in America
The Small Business Administration says it will not be taking direct action against its partner lenders that issued billions of dollars in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program forgivable loans. A panel in the House of Representatives estimated that $84 billion in PPP funds was issued fraudulently. A relaxing of internal controls by the SBA may have contributed to the massive fraud.
Pray for the SBA and Congress as attempts are made to hold accountable those who defrauded the nation through Paycheck Protection Program.
Pray for Goodness in America
A cookie store in Boston has made more than $1 million in revenue over the last five years. The founder and CEO is a young woman who has Down syndrome, but who discovered a love of baking as a teen and decided to channel her passion into a career. She admits it has not always been easy, but her energy and drive have also made her the author of two children’s books.
Pray for opportunities to encourage young people, with or without disabilities, to find their passions and turn them into careers.
Pray for America’s Media
According to the latest Zogby Poll, 67 percent of Americans believe the media are “scaring” Americans with the coronavirus coverage. Of those, 35 percent are moved to turn off the news and another 32 percent can “tune it out.” Eighty-two percent agree that the coverage of the virus is fearmongering.
Pray for accuracy in journalism and reporting surrounding the coronavirus and other health concerns in both the media and from the government.
Pray for America’s Education
Over a dozen states so far have withdrawn from the National School Boards Association after a letter was leaked that likened parents to domestic terrorists and the U.S. Attorney General directed the FBI and U.S. attorneys to address situations where parents have risen up against local school boards over the education of their children.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak first began, there has been a 6.5 percent (more than 1 million students) decline in undergraduate enrollment causing colleges to be concerned about a possible generational shift in attitudes about higher education.
Pray for concerned parents, school boards, and teachers’ unions as priorities concerning the education of students are debated and determined.
Pray for America’s Technology
A new report from the Government Accountability Office alleges that Russia breached the network management software company SolarWinds in 2020. It also claims that the Chinese government likely exploited a vulnerability in the Microsoft Exchange Server a year later.
Pray for U.S. cyber security experts and officials seeking to identify and prevent technological interference from other nations.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Legislators in Minnesota are planning how to address the unemployment insurance trust fund debts of businesses around the state. Minnesota owes the federal government over $1 billion after it borrowed money to replenish its unemployment insurance trust fund, which was drained during the COVID-19 pandemic. Businesses in Minnesota must pay quarterly unemployment insurance taxes into the trust fund.
Governor Janet Mills of Maine vetoed a bill that would have given farmworkers in the state the right to unionize, citing the increased costs to the state’s agricultural sector. She had delayed action on the farmworker bill by “laying it aside” after the legislature approved it last year.
Pray for state legislators and executives as they deal with financial issues that affect their states.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“Prayer is the only entryway into genuine self knowledge. It is also the main way we experience deep change—the reordering of our loves. Prayer is how God gives us so many of the unimaginable things he has for us. Indeed, prayer makes it safe for God to give us many of the things we most desire. It is the way we know God, the way we finally meet God as God. Prayer is simply the key to everything we need to do and be in life. We must learn to pray. We have to.” – Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God, January 2016, p.18.
