Praying for Our Leaders in Government
Executive Branch: Pray for the President and his Administration
President Donald Trump invoked the Defense Production Act last month to restart offshore oil production near the California coast. Though the state has sued to stop the use of the previously dormant operation, the Santa Ynez Pipeline System began to move crude through the network at the end of March at an estimated 60,000 barrels per day.
Pray for the president and members of his administration as they work to improve the nation’s energy production.
Legislative Branch: Pray for Senators and Representatives in Congress
Senator Tim Sheehy of Montana introduced a bill titled the Judicial Accountability for Irresponsibly Leniency (JAIL) Act. The legislation would hold judges personally responsible for the crimes of dangerous criminals after they allow their release from custody, or who have been given light sentences. While members of the judicial branch have long enjoyed immunity from the results of their decisions, Senator Sheehy said this offers the public no recourse for “soft-on-crime” judgments.
Pray for senators and representatives as they seek to ensure perpetrators of violence are incarcerated and prevented from further harming the public.
PRAY FOR CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES
The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, recently held a committee hearing on “Protecting American Citizenship II: Federalism, Sanctuary Cities, and the Rule of Law.” They heard testimony from a father whose 20-year-old daughter was killed by an illegal immigrant in a hit-and-run in Illinois. Chairman Grassley has supported the SAVE America Act, which would require voters to provide proof of citizenship and photo ID before casting ballots in federal elections.
Pray for congressional committee members as they investigate the impact of illegal immigration on public safety and federal elections.
Judicial Branch: Pray for Supreme Court Justices and Federal Judges
The U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the appeal of a 2013 Illinois law that bans concealed carry weapons on public transit. A panel of the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals had overturned a district judge’s finding in favor of the plaintiffs who challenged the ban under the Second and Fourteenth Amendments. The appellate judge stated in the majority opinion that the state law “is comfortably situated in a centuries-old practice of limiting firearms in sensitive and crowded, confined places.”
Pray for discernment for the justices of the Supreme Court and judges in the circuit and district courts as they assess the constitutionality of state laws.
