Presidential Prayer Team Update

	Issues for Prayer Willingly Entering the Mourning of Loss The Gulf of Mexico Oil Disaster by Marsha Crockett When a massive explosion and fire on the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig took the lives of 11 crewmen and injured many others on April 20, no one could’ve anticipated how the event would open the door to a long string of losses resulting in what is now the largest oil spill in American history. British Petroleum, operators of the drilling rig, and other sources estimate that 210,000 gallons (5,000 barrels) of oil per day are spewing into the Gulf of Mexico. Multiply that by 40+ days and nearly a million gallons of oil have been set adrift in the waters of the Gulf. Armed Forces Prayer Focus Major General Richard Mills, United States Marine Corps, Afghanistan Major General Richard Mills is a native of Huntington, New York. He currently serves as commanding general of the 1st Marine Division.   Executive Prayer Focus Donald Bernwick, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Donald M. Bernwick was born in 1946 in New York City and brought up in Connecticut.  He graduated with a B.A. from Harvard College, and received a M.P. from the John F. Kennedy School of Government ... Legislative Prayer Focus Gary Ackerman, U.S. House of Representatives, 5th District, New York Gary Leonard Ackerman has been a congressional delegate to the United Nations. He has worked with missions that feed the starving of Ethiopia and the Sudan ... Judicial Prayer Focus Robert W. Sweet, Senior Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of New York Robert Workman Sweet was born in Yonkers, New York, in 1932.  He attended Yale University and obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from Yale Law School. Opinion Sweet Dreams or Rude Awakening President Obama’s National Security Plan by Diane Markins President Obama’s first-ever National Security Plan was revealed last week. He was clearly attempting a circus-worthy balancing act between international goodwill and domestic safety… lofty ideals, without question. But did the President walk this tenuous tightrope successfully? Our Heritage Wield Your Weapon A renewed call to arms for the American Christian by Adam Colwell You’ve no doubt heard the phrase, “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.” But do you know where it comes from? It’s actually an American patriotic song written by Frank Loesser. The song was written in response to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. As the story goes, a chaplain at Pearl Harbor, Lieutenant Howell Forgy, said the words to encourage the men on the USS New Orleans as it came under enemy bombardment. In 1942, a recording of the song by The Merry Macs reached number eight on the Billboard chart. The 1943 version by Kay Kyser and His Orchestra reached number one! Even better, Loesser donated his royalties for sale of the song to the Navy Relief Society – to help raise awareness and monetary support for the war effort.   Presidential Quote of the Week James A. Garfield, 20th President of the United States “Now, more than ever before, the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless and corrupt, it is because the people tolerate ignorance, recklessness and corruption. If it be intelligent, brave and pure, it is because the people demand these high qualities to represent them in the national legislature… If the next centennial does not find us a great nation, it will be because those who represent the enterprise, the culture and the morality of the nation do not aid in controlling the political forces.” ( From a speech given at the nominating convention) Pray For President Obama & Administration Attorney General Eric Holder announced the federal government has launched a criminal and civil investigation into the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and pledged a review that would be “meticulous and aggressive.” A coalition of more than 30 organizations has urged the Federal Communications Commission to monitor “hate speech” on talk radio and cable broadcast networks, stating the public cannot separate facts from bigotry. Pray that all agencies of the federal government would be restrained by Constitutional limits. Pray For Congressional Leaders The House has extended unemployment insurance approximately three times this year, but discussions have begun on how to wind down the benefit. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (North Dakota) said “this is not a new entitlement.” Sen. John McCain (Arizona) suggested that President Obama helped set the stage for Monday’s attempt to break Israel’s blockade of Gaza by not offering a more forceful defense  of the U.S.’s Middle Eastern ally. Pray for our leaders to be cautious with their words even as rhetoric heats up in the coming mid-term election cycle. Pray For Judicial Needs The Obama Administration has asked the Supreme Court to rule that only the federal government can punish employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants – a preview of the legal clashes over Arizona’s new law on illegals. The Obama Administration is attempting to get thrown out of court the first major constitutional challenge of Obamacare, challenging the Constitution’s limits on federal power. Pray that the Supreme Court would seek humility in their consideration of these pending cases. Pray for Current Events THE WAR Iraq’s Supreme Court has ratified the results of their March election, clearing the way for further negotiations between parties in their attempt to form a coalition government. U.S. helicopters flew Afghan troops into a remote district overrun by the Taliban and recaptured the main town earlier this week without firing a shot, according to military officials. Give thanks for every success, great or small,  in the war and peace efforts in both Iraq and Afghanistan. TERRORISM Sixteen hundred delegates participating in a peace jirga in Afghanistan remained calm despite rocket explosions and gunfire outside the tent during President Karzai’s opening address. Mustafa Abu al-Yasid, commonly referred to as Al Qaeda’s “number three man,” is believed by U.S. officials to have been killed recently in a CIA drone attack in the tribal areas of Pakistan. Pray for those seeking to find consensus on the “road map” to reconciliation with insurgents in Afghanistan. THE ECONOMY May employment figures will show a spike in numbers due to the 575,000 temporary census workers April’s report was 290,000 new jobs created, according to Reuters. Despite the Gulf oil spill, gasoline prices dropped this week for the 26th straight day, to a national average of $2.92 per gallon, a streak that may last until mid-June, with another 10 to 12 cents to fall. Give thanks for any good news that comes relative to our national economy. JERUSALEM AND THE MIDDLE EAST Five Palestinians jihadists were killed in clashes along the Gaza border, which heated up the day after Israel Navy commandos boarded the ships of the aid flotilla seeking to make an illegal landing on Gaza beaches. Nearly all the foreign activists held by Israel after the raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla have been deported, about 120 overland through Jordan and the rest , most of whom were Turks, flown out to a Turkish destination. Pray for the leaders of Israel and Turkey to carefully measure their dialog in the shadow of this event. HEALTH CARE Antidepressants have risen to the top spot as the most commonly prescribed class of medications in the United States, and are now the preferred method of treatment over discussion therapies. A treatment tested on mice has shown overwhelmingly favorable results for a newly-developed vaccine that could prevent breast cancer and save the lives of millions of women. Pray for the researchers who labor to develop effective treatments for all manner of diseases.

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