[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 138 (Monday, September 30, 1996)]
[Senate]
[Page S11815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, offered the following prayer:
  Eternal God, Sovereign of history, who gives beginnings and an end, 
on whom our mortal efforts depend, soon this hallowed Chamber will be 
silent for a time. The 104th Congress will be completed. Historians 
will write the human judgments of what has been accomplished, but You 
will have the final word about what has been achieved. It is Your 
affirmation that we seek. Senators in both parties have prayed to know 
and do Your will. Often there has been sharp disagreement on what is 
best for our Nation. Thank You for those times that debate led to 
deeper truth and compromise to the blending of aspects of a greater 
solution. We remember those moving moments when we sensed Your 
presence, received supernatural power, and pressed on in spite of 
tiredness and tension. Help us to forgive and forget any memories of 
strained relationships or debilitating differences. Preserve the 
friendships that reach across party lines. Father, help us to finish 
well. Give us strength to complete the work of this day with 
expeditious excellence. Renew the weary, reinforce the fatigued, 
rejuvenate the anxious. When it is all said and done, there is one last 
word we long to hear. It is Your divine accolade, ``Well done, good and 
faithful servant.'' In the name of our Lord and Savior. Amen.

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