[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 79 (Monday, June 3, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S5657]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, offered the following prayer:
  Almighty God, source of all that we have and are, forgive us for 
taking Your blessings for granted. We go to sleep at night fully 
confident that we will awake the next morning, but often we do not 
praise You for the wonder of being alive. We rush into the day on our 
high horse and then ride off in all directions without thanking You for 
each day brimming full and overflowing with Your goodness. We 
presumptuously assume that we are in control of our lives, others, and 
circumstances. So much of what we think we accomplish alone is really 
the result of what You plan for us out of sheer grace, and give us the 
strength to attempt. We are so quick to take the credit. Life soon 
becomes horizontal and flat with faithless familiarity. Then into the 
blandness of this drift into self-help humanism, we hear the challenge 
Sursum Corda: Lift up your hearts. Carpe diem: Seize the day. Life is a 
privilege to be lived to the fullest in serving with humble gratitude. 
Remind us that we could not breathe a breath, think a thought, or work 
creatively this day without Your permission and Your power. Now we are 
ready for a new week of opportunities and challenges. In the name of 
our Lord. Amen.

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