[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 65 (Thursday, May 6, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H2815]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

[[Page H2815]]

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                        House of Representatives

  The House met at 10 a.m.
  The Reverend Dr. Ronald F. Christian, Chaplain, Lutheran Social 
Services, Washington, D.C., offered the following prayer:
  Together with the Psalmist, we say, ``Hear my prayer, O Lord, and 
give ear to my cry; . . . for I am a passing guest, a sojourner like 
all my fathers.''
  O God, on the day of national prayer, when people of many traditions 
and from a variety of national origins speak to You in many languages 
and address You with many different holy names, we pray,
  Withhold not Your kindness from us for our failure to practice mercy 
to our neighbor while we request and expect Your mercy for ourselves. 
We pray,
  Deliver us from a selfish pride that would allow even our faith in 
You to be understood as a sign of Your individual favoritism for us. We 
pray,
  Guide us into ways of wisdom which would teach us the value You have 
for each person, the gift You have given to every human and the hope 
You have buried deep in the heart of all people. We pray,
  Give us joy in our community, satisfaction in our labor, compassion 
for our neighbor, and peace in our relationships.
  This day, O God, we join with many to give You our thanks and to 
promise again to love You with our whole heart and our neighbor as 
ourselves.
  Amen.

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