[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 140 (Thursday, October 8, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S11831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain, Dr. William Hawkins, of Graves Memorial 
Presbyterian Church, Clinton, NC, offered the following prayer:
  Gracious God, whose compassion fails not and whose mercies are fresh 
and new every morning, hear our prayer as we look to You in spirit and 
in truth. We thank You for our Nation's leaders, who in times past 
found in You their stay in trouble, their strength in conflict, their 
guide and deep resource. May it please You heavenly Father that today 
this gathered company will find in You the same.
  As the Psalmist has exclaimed, ``Blessed is the nation whose God is 
the Lord'' (33:12), so may Your lordship be affirmed in our Nation and 
cherished always among the Members of this body. Grant unto these 
Senators the knowledge that they will serve our Nation best as they 
serve You first. Make them strong in Your strength, wise in Your 
wisdom, and compassionate in Your Spirit, that the legislation they 
propose will accomplish the greater good You would have them seek. Keep 
them, their families, and all those they love safe from harm, physical 
and spiritual, so that they can be about the affairs of our Nation with 
full attention and devotion.
  Grant unto each a sense of divine purpose, that they know themselves 
here not by chance but by design. Fulfill Your intentions for them in 
this high office, that they will be found working together, doing that 
which is pleasing in Your sight and in accord with Your holy will. In 
Your great name we pray. Amen.

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