Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for our Military
Veterans’ organizations report that the Department of Veterans Affairs will need at least $23 billion or 20 percent more than President Biden’s administration has requested for next year’s budget to meet rowing demand for health care and services.
The U.S. Navy has appealed a Hawaii court order that it drain massive tanks that store fuel in the hills above Pearl Harbor. The military branch claims the state wrongly concluded the tanks posed a threat that requires immediate action.
Pray for the safety of American personnel being deployed to Eastern Europe.
Pray for AMERICA’S FREEDOMS
The FBI has urged Olympic athletes “to use temporary cellphones” while in China for the upcoming Winter Olympic Games in Beijing. Officials warned, “While there were no major cyber disruptions, the most popular attack methods used were malware, email spoofing, phishing, and the use of fake websites and streaming services designed to look like official Olympic service providers.”
Pray that America’s Olympic athletes would have access to the digital and mobile services they need without disruptions or malignant interference from the Chinese government while at the Winter Games.
Pray for AMERICA’S FOREIGN RELATIONS
The signatories of the Iran nuclear deal only have a “handful of weeks left” to strike a deal and usher in a mutual return to compliance with the agreement, according to a senior State Department official. “We are in the final stretch because as we’ve said now for some time this can’t go on forever because of Iran’s nuclear advancement,” the official stated.
FBI Director Christopher Wray claimed the Chinese government is conducting cyber attacks on the U.S., stating the FBI found a recent uptick of spying activity while citing the results of 2,000 investigative actions conducted by the agency. “There’s just no country that presents a broader threat to our ideas, our innovation, and our economic security than China,” he said.
Pray for wisdom for those who are negotiating with Iran over reinstatement of the nuclear deal.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Johns Hopkins University’s Institute for Applied Economics, Global Health, and the Study of Business Enterprise has concluded that lockdown policies during the COVID-19 pandemic “have had little to no public health benefits” while imposing “enormous economic and social costs.”
COVID-19 vaccines could become available for children under 5 by the end of February. The Pfizer vaccine would initially be available as a two-dose regimen, but recent data has shown that two doses do not provide a strong enough immune response in all age groups, indicating a third dose may be required.
Pray for health officials as they continue to seek mitigation strategies for the coronavirus.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
Israel’s prime minister said that its Iron Dome defense system is too expensive and the country is speeding the rollout of laser technology to help protect it from rocket attacks. He said that the new generation of technology, a “laser wall,“ will be unveiled within a year in southern Israel. The system is eventually expected to be deployed on land, in the air, and at sea, and send a deterrent message to Iran and its proxies.
A new report characterizing Israel as an “apartheid regime” has opened a dispute between one of the most prominent international human rights groups (Amnesty International) and senior U.S. lawmakers and officials. U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said, “We reject the view that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid. We don’t offer our own public comprehensive evaluations of reports, but we certainly reject the label that has been attached to this when speaking about Israel.”
Pray for government officials from both United States and Israel to keep strengthening the relationship between the two countries.
Pray for AMERICA’S ECONOMY
Food prices have sharply risen not only in the U.S. but also globally because of disruptions in the global supply chain, adverse weather, and rising energy prices. these increases are imposing a heavy burden on poorer people at home and abroad, which threatens to incite social unrest. According to information released by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, food prices climbed in January to their highest level since 2011.
A measure of American manufacturing activity fell to a 14-month low in January amid another outbreak of COVID-19 cases, supporting the view that economic growth lost steam at the beginning of the year.
Pray for families and individuals in America who are having difficulty managing home budgets in the face of inflation.
Pray for Justice in America
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland released the Justice Department’s new National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking. The plan is expansive in scope, aiming to enhance the department’s capacity to prevent human trafficking, prosecute human trafficking cases, and support and protect human trafficking victims and survivors. He called human trafficking an “insidious crime,” where the most vulnerable are exploited and endangered.
Pray for federal law enforcement agencies and for prosecutors in the Justice Department to be strong in their activities to stop human trafficking.
Pray for Goodness in America
A nonprofit group in North Carolina is building free homes for foster families aimed at keeping large sibling groups together and in their own home communities. Many times, sibling groups end up separated and sent across the state “hardly ever seeing each other,” the founding group said, adding that it only “compounds the trauma they go through.”
Pray for those seeking to reform the foster care system in America. Give thanks for this group and others who are addressing the problems.
Pray for America’s Media
American truckers are following Canada’s lead and organizing a protest against vaccine mandates. However, the U.S. group’s Facebook page was removed in a move that the organizer called “censorship at its finest.” The person who organized the page for the truckers said his personal account was also removed, prompting him to contact a civil rights attorney to discuss the next steps. “They like to silence people that speak the truth,” he said of his Facebook ban.
Pray for judges and courts hearing cases regarding censorship by Facebook and other social media to uphold the freedom of speech.
Pray for America’s Education
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announced updates to the College Scoreboard, a tool used to help students weigh costs, future earnings, and other factors when considering institutions of higher education. The update is part of the department’s focus on making college more accessible to a broader range of students.
The failure of many public schools to reopen during the 2020-2021 school year is creating a boom of support for school choice policies nationwide among the general public and elected officials. A nationwide poll shows support for school choice across the country now at 74 percent.
Pray for education officials as school policies are determined, and for parents who are looking for schools that align with their family values.
Pray for America’s Technology
The Commerce Department is moving to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from TikTok and other foreign-owned apps eight months after opting not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. The department recently concluded a public comment period on the proposed rule change, which would expand federal oversight to explicitly include apps that could be used by “foreign adversaries” to steal data or otherwise influence users.
President Biden’s administration has formed a panel of senior administration officials and private sector experts to investigate major national cybersecurity failures, to be known as the Cyber Safety Review Board.
Pray for U.S. cyber security officials as they seek to protect privacy and prevent hacking. Pray for children who are easily swayed by information they receive on TikTok and other social media.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Responding to a call from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, 78 members of the New Mexico National Guard began working as substitute school teachers in an effort to keep schools open during an acute shortage of teachers during the Omicron variant wave.
South Dakota has become the first state in 2022 to enact a transgender athlete ban. The new law aims to “protect fairness in women’s sports.” Proponents claim that biological differences make it unfair for cisgender women and girls to compete against trans athletes who were assigned male at birth.
Pray for wisdom for state, local, and school leaders as they make decisions regarding transgender issues.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“My friends, now is not the time for us to be overwhelmed by our troubles. We know Who is in charge. We believe in God. We believe in Jesus, and we know there is more to life than this. Let’s lean in and be busy with the work the Lord has called us to do.“ – Pastor Gene Gregory, River of Life Church, Enterprise (Deltona), Florida, January 2021
