[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 141 (Monday, October 3, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Richard C. Halverson, D.D., offered the 
following prayer:
   Let us pray:
  For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of 
God.
  Eternal God, Lord of history, Ruler of all nature, sovereign Governor 
of the nations, help us contemplate the words of Abraham Lincoln, 
written in a private meditation, September 30, 1862:

       ``The will of God prevails. In great contests each party 
     claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may 
     be, and one must be, wrong. God cannot be for and against the 
     same thing at the same time. In the present civil war, it is 
     quite possible that God's purpose is something different from 
     the purpose of either party; and yet the human 
     instrumentalities, working just as they do, are the best 
     adaptation to effect His purpose.''

  Thou who ordainest all power, we are unspeakably grateful for 
Senators George Mitchell and Bob Dole. Thank You for their strength and 
inspiration in the leadership they give their parties, the Nation, and 
the world. Thank You for their fairness and patience, their calmness at 
times of tension, and their restraint in disagreement.
  Thank You for Senators Ford and Simpson, their support to the leaders 
and their parties, and for their strong influence in the Senate and the 
Nation.
  Gracious Father in Heaven, bless Thy servants and their families in 
all their ways, in all their future. May they live in the confidence of 
God's love and provision.
  In His name who is the Giver of Life. Amen.

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