Additional National Prayer Needs
Pray for America’s Military
Major General Hank Taylor, commander of the Eighth Army, explained how the service branch is phasing in an additional year in tours in South Korea. Not all installations are yet prepared to implement the “tour normalization“ system that sees soldiers with families serve for three years and unaccompanied troops two, so the southern facilities in Korea will begin first. “It’s really ensuring that we have all the resources available,” General Taylor said. “So as we tell families, we’re going to bring it, we know you’re here – we’ve got schools, we’ve got hospitals, we have that care.”
Pray for the secretaries and commanders in each U.S. military branch as they seek to stabilize and balance force and resource readiness.
PRAY FOR AN END TO THE WAR IN UKRAINE
Russia attacked another hospital in Ukraine this week, despite its continued insistence that it does not target civilians. President Trump responded to the situation, indicating that he’s open to selling Ukraine Tomahawk missiles. He said, “I might have to speak to Russia, to be honest with you, about Tomahawks. Do [the Russians] want to have the Tomahawks going in their direction? I don’t think so.” President Trump is supposed to meet with Ukrainian President Zelensky later this week.
Pray for President Trump and officials in his administration as they deliberate options to support Ukraine and endeavor to deter Russia’s attacks on civilians.
Pray for AMERICA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH ISRAEL
While Hamas has turned over four additional remains in addition to the ones released on Monday, Israeli Defense Forces reported that one of the bodies returned was not a hostage. Israel has delayed the opening of the Rafah crossing as the remains of the remaining dead hostages are suggested by Hamas to lie in rubble in Gaza. The release of all the hostages and the reopening of the crossing are requirements of the first phase of the ceasefire.
Pray for wisdom for Israeli officials regarding the timing of opening the crossing and for Hamas to locate and return the remains of the other hostages.
Pray for AMERICA’S HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
The Food and Drug Administration introduced a pilot program that prioritized Abbreviated New Drug Applications (ANDAs) for generic drugs that are manufactured and tested in the U.S. The move is intended to strengthen the nation’s pharmaceutical supply chain and decrease dependence on foreign suppliers.
Pray for Commissioner Makary and FDA officials to be prudent as they implement policies to strengthen the domestic supply chain for pharmaceuticals.
Pray for Needs Across the States
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt is working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport hundreds of illegal immigrants who have been convicted of violent crimes and are currently housed in state prisons. In cases where deportation orders already exist, parole boards will be able to transfer noncitizens into federal custody. The state’s highway patrol also recently found more than a hundred illegal aliens behind the wheel of 18-wheelers in a collaborative operation with ICE.
Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed an executive order opting his state into the federal school choice tax credit under the president’s One Big, Beautiful Bill. The governor said, “When it comes to educating our kids, we need to ensure that every student is in an environment that allows them to succeed. This program provides that opportunity, and I’m pleased to say that Nebraska will take part.”
Pray for state governors, attorneys general, and other officials as they address the concerns of their constituents.
Pray for America’s Faith Community
“Your holiness matters. In the Old Testament, the word ‘holy‘ doesn’t always refer to a moral state; often, it refers to a relationship. Cities are described as holy cities, vessels as holy vessels, and buildings as holy places. This means that they stood in a special relationship to God. And so it is in redemption: we have been placed in a special relationship to God. We have been set apart for a holy use. …
We cannot make vows to the Lord Jesus Christ and then just treat Him anyway we want. We simply cannot fool around with holiness. Why not? Because without holiness ‘no one will see the Lord‘ (Hebrews 12:14). …
We need the Spirit’s prompting and enabling to remind us that we have to weep deliberately and consciously over our own sins, repent of them, turn from them, and seek to obey our Lord—and not only with those sins that are clear and obvious but also with inward sins such as envy, pride, malice, hypocrisy, and self-righteousness. …
Holiness manifests itself in graciousness, pleasantness, and goodness. So holiness is attractive. When we see it in others, whether or not we call it holiness, we warm to it and long for it. And holiness is possible, because the Lord Jesus died for the failings of our flesh and sent His Spirit to dwell in us so that we can fight sin and walk toward eternal life.
The pathway to that holiness emerges from thinking upon the wonder of all that Jesus has done for us.“ – Alistair Begg, Truth for Life, “The Pathway to Holiness“
