Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
The U.S. military launched airstrikes in Syria in support of the Syrian Democratic Forces battling an attempted Islamic State prison break. The attack was ISIS’ largest in years, demonstrating a recent resurgence in their capability and members.
Eligible veterans would be automatically enrolled in the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system under a bill passed by the House of Representatives ensuring veterans would get a smooth transition to veterans’ services.
Pray for the safety and encouragement of America’s armed forces wherever they are stationed, including for those who may soon be deployed into Eastern Europe.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
Threats against lawmakers have reached an all-time high of 9,500, according to U.S. Capitol Police data shared in a hearing. Legislators from both parties have reported a “rise in violent rhetoric” coming increasingly from all ends of the political spectrum. Representative Donald Norcross of New Jersey said, “I don’t know many members of Congress who haven’t received a death threat.”
Pray for safety for America’s legislators and that unity and goodwill would increase in the general public.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
During his press conference, President Biden said that Russia might make a “minor incursion” into Ukraine and that it would not result in harsh reactions by the U.S. In response, Ukraine President Zelensky said, “We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power.”
The State Department has cleared Baltic NATO states Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia, to send U.S.-made missiles and other weapons to Ukraine, as officials and President Biden predict Russia will move on Ukraine.
Pray for negotiators from both sides looking to avoid an all-out conflict in Ukraine.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
A new study from the CDC shows that both vaccination and a prior infection provided protection against infection and hospitalization from COVID-19, but rates were actually lower among people who had recovered compared to people who were vaccinated.
A Midwest hospital chain has terminated the practice of using race as the determining factor for prioritizing certain individuals for COVID-19 treatment, after having received a legal notice over possible discrimination.
Pray for research doctors and those specializing in infectious diseases as they continue to look at both prevention and treatment of the COVID-19 virus and its variants.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
Israel’s government is preparing for the possibility of thousands of Ukrainian Jews immigrating to the Jewish state in the event of a Russian invasion. Some 75,000 people living in eastern Ukraine are eligible for Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return. According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Israel’s government is allegedly preparing to fly out tens of thousands of people in the event of an all-out Russian offensive.
Israel’s Defense Ministry reported that Israel successfully tested “breakthrough” capabilities of its Arrow 3 anti-ballistic missile system. “We have made a breakthrough in every part of the system, in the detection arrays, in the launches, even in the interceptors themselves, so that they match the threats that are expected in the region,” said Moshe Patel, head of the Defense Ministry’s missile defense organization.
Pray for Israel’s government and those who lead the Israeli Defense Forces in the nation’s protection against threats from its neighbors.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
A recent survey by a personal finance company revealed that less than fifty percent of Americans could afford a last-minute $1,000 emergency, like an unexpected car repair or visit to an emergency room, shedding light on just how hard inflation and other factors are hitting U.S. citizens’ finances.
According to GasBuddy data, the national average price for a gallon of gasoline in the U.S. rose to $3.31 this week, up 1.3 cents from a week ago. The head of petroleum at GasBuddy said drivers could begin to experience “real pain” at the pump in coming months, however, “as temperatures rise and spring break nears, there will be a demand surge, along with refiners doing maintenance ahead of the summer driving season, creating a squeeze.”
Pray for containment of the current inflation without the nation going into a recession.
Pray for Justice in America
Newly-elected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg released a “day 1 memo” highlighting how various crimes will no longer be prosecuted under his leadership. Suspects in robberies of businesses who make off with less than $1,000 in stolen goods will now be charged with petty larceny, a misdemeanor. Other crimes he will not prosecute are resisting arrest, fare beating, prostitution, and trespassing. He has since walked back his memo saying New Yorkers were “understandably” left with the wrong impression, and that he most certainly will prosecute crimes committed with guns.
Pray for federal, state, and local authorities and officials as stances are taken weakening the response to and prosecution of crime.
Pray for Goodness in America
A new poll released ahead of last week’s annual March for Life reveals that most young Americans support efforts to ban abortions after a baby’s heartbeat can be detected. Of those surveyed, 76 percent, including most pro-choice Americans, favor restrictions on abortions (including 71 percent of young adults); only 7 percent of millennials support abortion on demand.
Pray with gratitude that the “tide is turning” with young adults when it comes to abortion issues. Pray that new attitudes will continue to grow until all life is seen as valuable and wanted.
Pray for America’s Education
Parents in Michigan are responding after one of the state’s major political parties criticized parents who want to play a role in what public education teaches their children. “It’s wrong to take away the power from the parents,” said one. “It’s their children, not the government’s children, it’s our children.”
Parents suing a Wisconsin school district over a policy that allows officials to withhold knowledge of students’ efforts to change their gender identity from their families will have their case brought before the state’s Supreme Court. The case centers on the school district’s policy guidance related to trans-identified students.
Pray for parents, school boards, administrators, and teachers as efforts are made to reduce the influence of parents over their children’s education.
Pray for America’s Technology
Two government agencies are warning journalists, dissidents, and others about commercial surveillance software, saying the tools “access and retrieve virtually all content on a phone.” They told users to take additional measures to protect themselves. The warning comes after reports last year about the Pegasus surveillance tool sold by NSO Group, an Israeli company, that is being used to spy on journalists, politicians, human rights activists, and others.
Pray for wisdom for government officials as they seek to prevent surveillance capabilities that have been built into both hardware and software by developers.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Some legislators in the Iowa House of Representatives want to make the process of determining public assistant eligibility more stringent, looking to create a new system to more closely identify and verify who is on public assistance, intensify how the Department of Human Services tracks and reports suspected fraud, perform asset tests and give the DHS more access to information when determining eligibility.
At least two Connecticut school districts will train staff, including nurses and teachers, to use Narcan after a 13-year-old died of a fentanyl overdose last week. Narcan is the brand name for a nasal spray that administers a medication that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in an emergency.
Pray for officials on the state, county or parish, and municipal levels who need wisdom in their decision-making.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“What [continual prayer] has done is it lets me live in a heavenly consciousness. One of the things the Bible says is to pray without ceasing, which means to bring God into everything. And so, when I’m operating in that consciousness, I’m staying in contact with heaven about anything, whether large or small.
It’s critical that we do that if we want God involved in everything, large and small, because small things shall become large when they go left. So, you want Him on the front end and not on the back end of all issues of life.“ – Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship, Dallas, Texas
