God is our refuge and strength, a very ready help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1 NASB
This week, our nation paused to honor all who have served in the U.S. military, and we continue in prayer for our veterans! As prayers often do, our intercessions in one area prompt us to turn our attention and prayer to another area. Therefore, it’s time to lift up our active duty service members, and their families!
Currently, there are roughly 1.2 million active service members serving in the Army, Navy, Marine Corp, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Space Force, located across the nation and stationed across the world. Their operations extend from outer space to cyberspace, with missions going under the sea to across continents. The men and women who make up our military have been given all kinds of gifts and abilities by God to successfully execute the wide and varied tasks that are required of them in every tactical and operational circumstance imaginable.
They need our prayers as they safeguard our freedoms and national interests around the world!
The highly structured atmosphere and clearly defined expectations of the military environment can bring out the best in our service members, raising up some of the most driven and service-oriented men and women in our nation, with high standards of excellence and performance.
Feelings of intense isolation and hopelessness can lead to suicidal thoughts in military members. In the face of overwhelming stressors and invisible wounds such as moral injury, service members may self-medicate through substance abuse that leads to all kinds of addictions.
Military families are at a higher risk of family dysfunction and consistent financial strain, with military spouses experiencing an unemployment rate of 22% on average, and up to 38% in some areas. Military spouses also experience domestic violence at a significantly higher rate than civilian spouses and intimate partners. A 2023 study revealed that 25.8 percent of military families are considered ‘food insecure’ even utilizing food pantries and state and federal nutrition assistance programs to feed their families.
There is much for us lift up in prayer on behalf of our military and their families!
As we pray for the military, we must also pray for the believers who God has called and equipped to minister directly to our service members and their families, such as our prayer partners at The Warrior’s Journey (TWJ).
To date, TWJ has engaged in 4,300 direct suicide preventions, with a 99.99% success rate – praise GOD!
The Lord has given TWJ fruitful outcomes through their ‘warrior to warrior’ model of ministry. A service member or veteran reaches out to TWJ and is immediately matched with a fellow service member or veteran ‘connector’ based on role, rank, branch, and gender. This connector is there for ongoing personal conversations and helps the warrior in need navigate through partner programs, VA assistance, other available support resources.
“Our mission is to create trusted environments for vulnerable conversations,” says Kevin Weaver, President/CEO of TWJ and an Air Force veteran himself. “There is something cathartic in the power of presence, just being there, and understanding.”
These challenges of family dysfunction, moral injury, and various forms of addiction and self-medication are some of the most frequent challenges that Weaver and those serving in TWJ see among the warriors who reach out, looking for wholeness and healing.
We pray for all service members to receive the wholeness and healing that they seek, and to allow God to move in their hearts and walk in an eternal-life-giving relationship with Him.
TWJ also equips active service members with resiliency trainings on installations around the world, giving them the tools to overcome the challenges they will face going forward with grace and strength.
These trainings can help prevent moments of crises in the future, with service members and their families having healthy and God-honoring strategies in place within their units, homes, and hearts.
Lord, You are the God Who Sees! You see and know each service member that is serving all across the globe, from the most senior generals in Washington D.C., to the troops with boots on the ground overseas. I lift them up to You, interceding for them. Open their hearts to the truth of the Gospel, to know that they serve You first and foremost, each day, and to work with excellence and perseverance through every task and mission set before them. Keep them out of harm’s way, and provide safety and security for their families, especially when the service members are away from home. I pray for strong, faithful, and loving marriages for our military members, and for military spouses who sacrifice alongside their service members to build strong friendships and supportive community wherever You appoint them to be stationed. Lord, give strategy and connection for the many missionaries who are reaching into the military community with the Gospel of hope, teaching them to glorify You among the nations, and seek You in all generations. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
Peace and blessings,
Amy Parks
Communications Director