[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 120 (Thursday, September 5, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S9869]
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, You have created us to praise You. Forgive our pride 
that takes the place of praise in our hearts. So often, we want to be 
adequate in our own strength, to be loved by You because of our self-
generated goodness and to be admired by people because of our superior 
performance. Pride pollutes everything; it stunts our spiritual growth, 
creates tension in our relationships, and makes us people difficult for 
You to bless. Most of all, our pride separates us from You, Dear 
Father. Life becomes bland, truth becomes relative, and values become 
vitiated. We lose that inner confidence of convictions rooted in the 
Bible and Your revealed truth. Now in this quiet moment, we praise You 
that You break the bubble of the illusion that with our own cleverness 
and cunning we can solve life's problems. You give us back our sense of 
humor so that we can laugh at ourselves for thinking that we can make 
it on our own. We humble ourselves before You and ask to be filled with 
Your Spirit. Now, with our minds and hearts firmly planted on the Rock 
of Ages, we greet the ambiguities of this day with the absolutes of 
Your truth and guidance. In the name of our Savior and Lord. Amen.

                          ____________________