Dear Christ Church Prayer Warriors:

We come together in prayer on Monday, November 17, knowing that God is good and has a purpose for our nation, His church, and His people. May we pray with hope, encouraged that the Holy Spirit prays through us and the ears of our Father are attentive to our cries.

National Division

Our nation remains deeply divided over religious, political, economic, racial, and cultural issues. No where is this divide more evidenced than in the federal government. This past week, Congress voted 222-209—largely along party lines— to approve a spending package and end a 43-day shutdown that
saw many government workers furloughed and others working without pay.

While we are thankful that this immediate crisis has passed, let us continue to pray that God will pour out His spirit and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). May the outpouring we see on our college campuses pour over into all facets of American life and society, and may our nation return to God.

Isaiah 44:22:
I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and like a cloud, your sins. Return to Me, for I
have redeemed you.”

Let us continue to pray for our leaders at every level, but especially at the federal level: President Donald Trump, Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Senate Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson. Pray also for Supreme Court Justices who have agreed to hear an important case regarding voting rights in 2026.

1 Timothy 2:1-2:
Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for
all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence.

Antisemitism

Clearly, antisemitism and hatred toward Israel are on the rise in the United States and around the world,
reaching unprecedented and historic levels since the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recorded 9,354 antisemitic incidents in 2024, the highest number since it began tracking the data in 1979 and a 5% increase over 2023 (which was also a record year), a 344% increase over the past five years, and an 893% increase over the past decade.

The State of Antisemitism in America 2024 report, published in February 2025, said that one third of American Jews have been the personal target of antisemitism, in-person or virtually, at least in the past year. More than half (56%) of American Jews said they altered their behavior out of fear of antisemitism in 2024, a significant increase from 46% in the previous year.

Similar trends are reported in other nations around the globe. According to a report by the ADL in January 2025, 46% of the world's adult population—or about 2.2 billion people— "harbors deeply
entrenched antisemitic attitudes."

Younger Americans are growing increasingly anti-Jewish and anti-Israel, a trend paralleling the rise of antisemitic hate speech being shared on social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.

While the Bible clearly predicts that, in the end time, the world will hate Israel and Jerusalem will be a heavy stone, let us pray that God will turn America's heart back to Him and toward Israel and benefit from the Lord's blessing.

Genesis 12:2-3:
And I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; and you shall be a blessing; and I will bless those who bless and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”

Zachariah 12:1-3:
The LORD who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth, and forms the spirit of a person within him, declares: “Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes staggering to all the peoples around; and when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah.   It will come
about on that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples; all who lift it will injure themselves severely. And all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it.

Let us pray that America will return to teaching humanities and history in our schools, and will underscore the nation's founding on Judaic-Christian values and faith and its strong support for Israel and its people

Persecution of Christians in China and Nigeria

Open Doors, an international organization founded by Brother Andrew that monitors anti-Christian activity around the world, reports that new regulations are making it harder to share the gospel in China. In the name of "national security," the Chinese government no longer allows foreign Christians to
preach or evangelize there. According to Open Doors:While Christian foreigners are not officially banned, events involving foreign nationals—from preaching to religious ceremonies, down to visits from missionaries—must be approved by the authorities to be considered legal. In practice, these permissions
are very unlikely to be given by the authorities. While Christianity is officially permitted under the Three- Self Church movement, these churches are heavily controlled and monitored by the government.

Likewise, President Trump has brought the persecution of Christians in Nigeria to the attention of the world. “If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these
horrible atrocities,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

While it is true that Nigeria's majority Muslim population has also faced violence and killing at the hands of Islamic extremists, there is no doubt that Christians have been hit very hard. One study reported in July that, of 36,056 civilian deaths between 2019 and 2024, there were 2.4 Christians killed for every
Muslim. In states where the attacks occur, Christians were murdered at a rate 5.2 times higher than Muslims relative to their population size. Open Doors said very little has changed for Christians in Nigeria, particularly those living in the Muslim-majority north, where it documented 3,100 Christians
killed and 2,830 abducted—but many atrocities go unreported.

Hebrews 13:3:
Remember the prisoners, as though in prison with them, and those who are badly treated, since you yourselves also are in the body.

John 15:18-51:
“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.   Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than
his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will persecute you as well; if they followed My word, they will follow yours also. But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not
know the One who sent Me.

Pray that God will strengthen the faith and resolve of persecuted Christians worldwide. Pray that His church will grow and thrive and overcome its enemies through the power of love. Pray for increased intercession and support for our persecuted brothers and sisters from countries around the world.

Global Action on Climate Change

This week, through November 21, world leaders are meeting in Brazil at the United Nations annual climate change conference known as COP30. COP stands for the Conference of the Parties It is the UN's main decision-making body for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which
was adopted by the UN in 1992. One hundred ninety seven nations are attending the conference.

In essence, COP30 is a movement toward a one-world agreement to solve the climate "crisis through policies that control emissions, force developed countries to help emerging nations implement clean energy projects, and implement social policies to reduce poverty and ensure climate justice.
Let us pray against all forms of globalism that undermine national sovereignty, centralize world power in a single organization or person, and does not direct attention or give glory to the Creator of heaven and earth. Let us pray that COP30 conference attendees will realize that God is sovereign over all the earth.

Psalm 46:2-4:
Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling.

Isaiah 45:12:
I have made the earth, and created man on it. I—My hands—stretched out the heavens, and all their host I have commanded.

Thank you for praying on Monday, November 17, as the Holy Spirit directs you.

Blessings!
Pastor Steve & Tricia Lestarjette