[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 18 (Monday, January 30, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S1727]
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:
  Tomorrow morning, Officer David Agner will have surgery near his 
brain--very serious. In a moment of silence, let us remember the 
officer and his family.
  Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for 
thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were 
created.--Revelation 4:11.
  Gracious God and Father, the Founders of our Republic understood this 
fundamental truth and, upon it, based their conviction of human 
equality, human rights, and a government whose purpose was to secure 
these rights and whose authority was derived from the people. Grant us 
to see, O God, that if we undermine this foundation of our Government, 
we, sooner or later, jeopardize the superstructure which was built upon 
it. As we forsake the root of our national uniqueness, we forfeit the 
fruit.
  Help us to comprehend, dear God, that this is one explanation for the 
futility of our best human efforts today. We are struggling to preserve 
the benefits of a belief which we no longer hold to be true. We have 
smashed the foundation and are striving to prevent the superstructure 
from collapsing.
  Forgive the secularism, the antisupernaturalism which we have 
exchanged for faith in a Creator God which motivated our Founding 
Fathers. Restore unto us their beliefs that we may recover the riches 
of the legacy they transmitted to us before it is too late.
  We pray this in the name of Him who is the Light of the world. Amen.

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