Basque Country Prayer Points for Week of February 27, 2023
Prayer Points and verse for the week:
Prayers points:
- Some apartment buildings have communal heating. The area had a very mild December, however in January the temperatures were lower meaning more heating was needed. The places with common heating powered by natural gas saw a doubling of the gas bill over the previous year.
- Pray for families as they look to pay these higher heating/energy bills and property owners as they look for solutions.
- The number of people who live in Guipuzcoa (Province of San Sebastian) has seen a steady increase in the number of people who are living in the area. The two main reasons stated are challenges in finding a job and people who are returning back to their home country. The number of people has tripled in the last 30 years.
- Pray for employment opportunities in Basque Country.
- In the Spring/Summer of 2022 the Spanish legislature passed a law about state secrets 50 years or older. This would include those from the Franco era which were previously considered confidential with no plans for them to ever be public. The person leading the declassification has communicated that they are unsure of when they will be able to provide documents. Additionally, there are ongoing discussions regarding the logistics for deciding which documents are declassified.
- Pray for those working to declassify documents and what they may reveal from the different leaders.
- The public healthcare system (Basque name: Osakidetza) continues to be under pressure from workers and the public. On February 25 thousands of workers and citizens were in the streets of the three capital cities to communicate dissatisfaction with the current situation. On the other side, the leader of the healthcare system is attempting to show counter points to the grievances of the workers and citizens.
- Pray for leaders, workers and citizens as solutions are discussed for the system.
- The Basque pension system is starting to see the number of retirees increase, with last year seeing a historic high. Changes are being made to ensure the system can support the planned retirees in the coming years, which they expect to be high numbers.
- Pray for those making retirement decisions and leaders as they explore potential changes to the system to support those in or approaching retirement.
- A new law which is called “solo sí es sí” (only yes is yes), which is a law related to sexual abuse and sexuality, continues to be an issue for the coalition of PSOE and Podemos.
- Pray for those leaders as they work to write the law in such a way that meets what is being asked and protects all those involved.
The verse for the week:
Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.
Matthew 10:16 ESV