1. Praise God for the power of the resurrection of Jesus Christ reconciled us to God, so that as His children, we are empowered to live a fulfilled and victorious life in Christ. Pray that we will be blessed with God’s Shalom peace that is beyond human comprehension and envelopes us even in the midst of the storms of our lives. Pray that the Holy Spirit will grant us greater faith not to doubt, but believe in the resurrection of Christ. Pray that He will help that head knowledge become heart knowledge so that our actions will reflect our faith. As our faith in Christ deepens, pray that God will impart to us His love and compassion for unbelievers, so we will not remain silent, but be faithful in pursuing opportunities to share Christ with others. Pray that God will daily fill our hearts with joy, and our mouths will continually overflow with praise for Him.
2. Praise God that He has revealed Himself and His will for our lives, and what He is doing in the world through the Bible. Pray that the Holy Spirit will empower us to be diligent in reading and studying God’s Word, and that we will be blessed as we spend time in His Word. Pray for wisdom as we prepare to read God’s Word, for clarity while we read, and discernment as we apply His Word in our lives, that the truth we find in the Scriptures will transform our hearts and minds to follow Christ more closely. Pray also for a teachable spirit that is receptive to all that the Holy Spirit would have us learn. Pray that whenever we read the Bible, the Lord will open our ears to hear His voice speaking to us and remove any preconceived biases that we may have developed. Pray that as we diligently study God’s Word, we will know Him and His love for us more intimately.
3. The Health director-general recently pointed out that nearly all the new cases of Covid-19 infections involve migrant workers in the nation, both documented and undocumented workers. Employers play a pivotal role to help break the chain of Covid-19 transmission among their foreign workers. Pray that these employers will take on a more sizable role to address the matter, and they will be responsible and work with the governmental guidelines to test their foreign employees, and provide them with various ways to prevent transmission, like educating the workers on hygienic practices at home and at work, providing them with clean, conducive places to stay that allows for social distancing, hand-washing, etc. As many of the new cases of infections are connected to foreigners detained in overcrowded detention centres, pray for wisdom for the authorities as they review the protocol on placing detainees in the centres. Pray that both the government, as well as the public, will treat these people with compassion, kindness and respect.
4. As the coronavirus pandemic ravages communities across the world, the evil of racial discrimination has also surfaced, ranging from the obvious everyday racism, where people are called names, abused and harassed to the more subtle kinds of racism where it is more difficult for people to get jobs or housing because of their colour or nationality. As racism is escalating in societies all over the world in the form of social, racial and gender inequalities, pray for God’s intervention, that He will step in and raise up leaders who will act with courage to combat racism and discrimination in the midst of this health crisis. Nobody faced racism more severely than the Jews, and consequently, God used the Jews to change the whole world. As we represent a God who makes no distinction between the inherent value of one race or ethnicity over another, pray that God will use His people in every nation to change the world by impacting their communities with the life-changing message of the Gospel that creates a healthy relationship with God and healthy relationships between people, no matter who they are.
5. During this pandemic, more than 50% of people who have called the mental health hotline required emotional support due to stress, loss of hope, loss of jobs, loss of income, uncertainty of the future, and even interpersonal problems. Many have also called the hotline for basic issues such as financial problems and issues such as domestic violence and family issues. Pray for the counselling officers in the hotline, that God will grant them empathy and patience, wisdom and compassion as they counsel and advice the people who call the hotline services. As there is a need for more counsellors, pray that the authorities will be able to recruit more counselling officers. But on the flip side, there is also much to praise God for. Praise and thank God that, because of the MCO/CMCO, people have more time to seek God through reading His Word, prayer and worship; and families have more time to cultivate and develop their relationships with one another. Praise God for all those who reached out to provide basic necessities to those in need. Praise God for His healing power on those infected with the virus, and for the powerful testimonies that some have attributed to God for their healing, giving glory to Him.
6. As the Ministry of Education prepares for schools to reopen soon, only Form Five and Form Six students will be allowed to return back to school when school reopens, while all others will be under home-based learning until further notice from the Education Ministry. School reopening management guidelines, which include temperature checks, easting in classrooms and social distancing, have been distributed to allow schools and teachers to make appropriate preparation. Pray that schools nationwide will be able to adhere to the strict measures that will be adopted, and for students and parents to also give their full cooperation. Pray for wisdom for the teachers as they prepare to teach in the new norm, and for patience for teachers, students and parents as teething problems are bound to occur. Pray that with careful implementation of the SOPs, all infection will be prevented, and this will pave the way for more students to be able to go back to school.
7. The coronavirus has hit certain countries with particular cruelty, with USA, Brazil, Russia, Spain, the United Kingdom, Italy and India having the most number of infections, which continue to rise in these nations in alarming rates daily. As the people in these nations struggle with anxiety and distress, pray that God will grant government leaders and medical experts wisdom and knowledge to combat the spread of COVID-19, flatten the exponential curve of infections and to find a cure for it. Pray for spiritual leadership to arise and bring comfort and hope to their people, and help them turn their fear into prayer. Pray especially for USA, as the nation battles both the coronavirus and violent protests in many cities after a black man was killed in police custody. Pray for a spirit of repentance to sweep through the nation, that people will humble themselves, pray and seek the Lord’s face, and turn from their wicked ways so that God will forgive their sin and heal their land.