DAY 1 | States AL & AK
DAILY TOPIC: Thanksgiving
PRAYER FOR THANKSGIVING
Thank You for all the bountiful blessings You have poured out on America. We praise You, knowing that all good things come from Your hand. Thank You for Your Creation, Your Word, Your Son, Your Spirit and Your Truth. Thank You that You make Your true character known to those who truly seek You. Thank You for providing the way for forgiveness and for healing in our lives and in our nation. Thank You for Your patience, Your mercy, Your pardon, and Your provision. Thank You for the faith of our founders, and for giving them Your wisdom. Thank You for those who have gone before us who pledged their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor to establish this country and provide for our freedom. Thank You for all those who have put their lives on the line for the freedom and welfare of others. Thank You for the religious freedoms we enjoy – to gather, to worship, and to pray. In Your precious son’s name, Amen.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever (1 Chronicles 16:34).
PRAYER FOR ISRAEL
Lord, thank you that the President recognized Jerusalem as the Biblical capital of Israel and moved our Embassy. We pray for peace and prosperity in Israel, and ask for an end to the violence and suffering. We pray for justice, and Your sovereign righteousness over Israel. We pray for mercy and Your Kingdom to rule over the land. Please protect the soldiers and civilians from bloodshed. Give wisdom to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Knesset (The legislature of Israel). May Israel remain strong, not dividing the land You gave as an inheritance to Your chosen people. May the United States continue to fully support Israel, the nation that gave us salvation through Jesus Christ.
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may they prosper that love thee (Psalm 122:6).
Day 1- Preamble
"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America."
Prayer: We pray for our government to perform their duties as prescribed in the Preamble to the Constitution!
PRAYER FOR NATIONAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS
Lord God, we ask for Your blessing and wisdom on the lives of these leaders in our nation.
EXECUTIVE
President Joe Biden
Vice President Kamala Harris
THE PRESIDENT’S CABINET
Secretary of State
Secretary of the Treasury
Secretary of Defense
Secretary of the Interior
ATTORNEY GENERAL
Merrick Garland
SUPREME COURT
Chief Justice John Roberts
JUSTICES
Amy Coney Barrett
Samuel Alito
Brett Kavanaugh
Clarence Thomas
Neil Gorsuch
Elena Kagan
Ketanji Brown Jackson
Sonia Sotomayor
Lord, we ask for their courage to do what is right in your sight and to overturn the following decisions ...
1947: EVERSON V. BOARD OF EDUCATION
"Wall of Separation" Between church and state
(RULING: Ruled as Constitutional allocating taxpayer funds (to bus children) to religious schools because it did not breach the "wall of separation”: between church and state. Decision held that the establishment clause of the First Amendment applied to state, local and federal government. Bottom Line: Distributing public funds to parents to cover the cost of busing their children to religious schools did not breach the wall. And, finally, it was this ruling that established the vernacular ‘wall of separation’ which set the precedent for the next two Supreme Court decisions removing prayer and bible reading from our schools.)
Where did the term Wall of Separation come from?
Establishment Clause Definition
1962: ENGEL V. VITALE
Removed prayer from public education
(RULING: Unconstitutional for state officials to compose an official school prayer and encourage its recitation in public schools. PLAINTIFF: Steven Engel, New York parent / DEFENDANT: William Vitale, the school board president)
1963: ABINGTON SCHOOL DISTRICT V. SCHEMPP
Removed the Bible from public education
(RULING: Declared school-sponsored Bible reading in public schools in the United States to be unconstitutional. PLAINTIFF: Edward Lewis Schempp and family / DEFENDANT: Abington School District)
1968: EPPERSON V. ARKANSAS
Opened the door for evolution to be taught as fact in public schools
(RULING: Creation and Intelligent Design were ruled as religious studies in government schools. Government schools are to remain neutral https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/393/97/)
1973: ROE V. WADE: OVERTURNED BY THE GRACIOUS HAND OF THE LORD - JUNE 2022
Allowed Unrestricted Access to Abortion
(RULING: Unduly restrictive state regulation of abortion is unconstitutional. PLAINTIFF: Norma McCorvey, aka Jane Roe / DEFENDANT: Henry Wade, district attorney of Dallas County, TX, where Roe resided)
2003: LAWRENCE V. TEXAS:
Struck down the sodomy law, thus legalizing same-sex sexual activity in every U.S. state and territory
(RULING: The “Homosexual Conduct” law [prohibiting sodomy] was unconstitutional and violated the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause that protects a substantive right to personal liberty in intimate decisions)
2015: OBERGEFELL V. HODGES:
Legalized same-sex marriage nationwide
(RULING: The Constitution guarantees a nationwide right to same-sex marriage. State bans on same-sex marriage and on recognizing same-sex marriages duly performed in other jurisdictions are unconstitutional under the due process and equal protection clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. PLAINTIFF: Jim Obergefell, a same-sex widower / DEFENDANT: Richard Hodges, Ohio’s health director)
TODAY’S STATE FOCUS
We direct our prayers to the states of Alabama and Alaska and their leaders.
WE DECLARE THE 1901 PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ALABAMA:
“We, the people of the State of Alabama, invoking the favor and guidance of Almighty God , do ordain and establish the following Constitution.”(22nd State admitted to the Union on December 14th, 1819)
ALABAMA GOVERNOR
Kay Ivey [R]
ALABAMA ATTORNEY GENERAL
Steve Marshall [R]
ALABAMA SENATORS
Richard Shelby [R]
Tommy Tuberville [R]
ALABAMA REPRESENTATIVES
DEMOCRATS
Terri Sewell
REPUBLICANS
Jerry Carl Jr.
Barry Moore
Mike Rogers
Robert Aderholt
Mo Brooks
Gary Palmer
WE DECLARE THE 1956 PREAMBLE OF THE CONSTITUTION OF ALASKA:
“We, the people of Alaska, grateful to God and to those who founded our nation and pioneered this great land.” (49th State admitted to the Union on January 3rd, 1959)
ALASKA GOVERNOR
Mike Dunleavy [R]
ALASKA ATTORNEY GENERAL
Treg Taylor [Nonpartisan]
ALASKA SENATORS
Lisa Murkowski [R]
Dan Sullivan [R]
ALASKA REPRESENTATIVES
Don Young [R]
We ask that You turn their hearts towards You, Lord. We ask that You soften their hearts, Lord, to recognize and receive truth. Lord, we ask that You grant them the understanding and knowledge that come from the fear of You. We ask that You grant them wisdom and discernment, Lord, and that You make them bold to do what is right in Your sight. Lord, we ask that You direct their hearts to do Your will. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
