[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 213 (Sunday, December 31, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S19321]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain, Rev. George Anderson, pastor of Mount Oak United 
Methodist Church, Bowie, MD, offered the following prayer.
  Let us pray:
     O God our help in ages past,
     Our hope for years to come,
     Our shelter from the stormy blast,
     And our eternal home!

     Under the shadow of Thy throne
     Thy saints have dwelt secure;
     Sufficient is Thine arm alone,
     And our defense is sure.

     Before the hills in order stood,
     Or earth received her frame,
     From everlasting Thou art God,
     To endless years the same.

  Another year dies--a new year is born. New challenges, new 
opportunities, new responsibilities, new occasions arise, demanding our 
best, requiring wisdom, vision, foresight, and courage.
  O Lord God--Beautiful Savior, Everlasting Father, the Prince of 
Peace--I pray for the men and women of the U.S. Senate, their families, 
and their staffs, that You would watch over them with Your holy angels 
each day through the year that lies ahead; that You would protect them, 
bless them, and guide them. Your word declares that ``when a man's ways 
are pleasing to God, He makes even his enemies to live in peace with 
him.''
  O Ruler of Heaven--Lord of lords and King of kings, take charge in 
this Chamber. May Your will be done in this place through the guidance 
of Your holy spirit. Bind the powers of darkness that they might have 
no voice or place here.
  And may the people of this land be blessed by the work that is done 
here. May the people--Your people--be encouraged, strengthened, 
liberated, and not ever weakened or oppressed by the laws enacted in 
these Chambers. Watch over our men and women in Bosnia and protect 
them, we pray.
  As we commit to You the year that is ending, with all its successes 
and failures, so also we commit to you the year that lies ahead, with 
all its hopes and fears.
  Thank You, O beautiful Savior that we don't have to face either the 
past, the present, or the future alone. But You promise to walk with 
us, as we put our trust in You.

     O holy Child of Bethlehem!
     Descend to us, we pray;
     Cast out our sin, and enter in;
     Be born in us today.
     We hear the Christmas angels
     The great tidings tell;
     O come to us, abide with us,
     Our Lord Emmanuel.

  We pray this prayer in the name of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob--and Jesus. Amen.

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