Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
President Joe Biden announced that the U.S. will ban all imports of Russian oil, natural gas, and coal in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. “We will not be part of subsidizing Putin’s war,” the president said.
The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing stricter rules to reduce air pollution from commercial trucks and buses, an effort it says will combat smog in major cities and the resulting respiratory problems. They advanced new standards for engine manufacturers to lower nitrogen oxide emissions.
Pray that President Biden and his aides would seek God’s guidance as they deal with the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania said the U.S. must start putting its natural gas and oil onto the market not only to stop funding Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war machine but also to help bring down rising prices at the pump. The U.S. is spending about $75 million a day in its purchases of Russian oil, Perry said.
Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, in a letter to the Department of Homeland Security inspector general, said a law enforcement arm of the DHS participated in a secret bulk surveillance program that collected millions of records about certain money transfers of some Americans without a warrant. The program was overseen by investigators with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and involved transfers to or from Mexico, he said.
Pray for members of Congress as they endeavor to avert a government shutdown by the passage of another continuing resolution or final budget legislation.
PRAY FOR CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
Members of the Senate Intelligence Committee are debating a proposed arrangement with Poland or other Eastern European allies in providing older Russian-made fighter jets to Ukraine, possibly backfilling them with U.S.-made F-16 fighters, but the transfer of U.S.-made jets faces a number of political problems.
Pray for members of the congressional committees as they conduct hearings or promulgate new legislation.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
A federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. can continue to swiftly remove migrant families under an emergency pandemic rule, but “only to places where they will not be persecuted or tortured.”
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court reinstated the death sentence for the 2013 Boston Marathon bomber who killed three people and wounded scores. An appeals court had set aside the sentence after finding trial errors that may have prejudiced the jury. Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas said trial judges have broad discretion in deciding what question to ask prospective jurors: “That discretion does not vanish when a case garners public attention.”
Pray for the judges of America’s courts who continue to hear cases having to do with redistricting or COVID mandates.
