[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 156 (Tuesday, November 13, 2001)]
[House]
[Pages H8036-H8037]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Reverend Vincent A. Cummings, Chaplain, Captain, United States 
Air Force Reserve, Nashville, Tennessee, offered the following prayer:
  Father, we gather here today as public servants, assembled 
collectively inside this, the United States House of Representatives. 
Use us as instruments of Your will. We thank You for the life, health, 
wisdom and love You have bestowed upon our Nation.
  First, we ask that You confer upon us, whether rich or poor in 
spirit, Your most holy traits of mercy and humility. Place a burden on 
the hearts of these legislators for those who have the least. Let them 
constantly remember their duties to their citizens, but most of all, 
those who are the meekest: the homeless, the poor, and the oppressed. 
Anoint these great men and women to also be protectors of the future, 
our children, and never allow them to forsake their well-being for the 
interests of the present.
  Continue also to develop the tenets of selfless service and honorable 
character in all of us, as we serve this great country as its leaders. 
Teach us to do what is right for all time, not what is acceptable for 
the moment at hand. Let us also remember that freedom is not free. As 
witnessed through our Nation's recently shed blood, a price was

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paid for the liberty we now enjoy. Show us that Your grace must 
coincide with the justice we diligently pursue. Never again let us have 
words and promise take the place and deeds and actions.
  Finally, hold us accountable to a higher standard when our personal 
judgment takes place. Examine us upon what we did to make these, our 
United States of America, a better place for all. Peer into our hearts 
and see the humility, the grace, and the courage to have made the best 
decisions for those we serve. But, most of all, judge us on how well we 
loved our brothers and sisters, the citizens of the United States of 
America, through our acts as their servant leaders.
  May God continue to bless all of you, the elected representatives of 
the House, and may God continue to bless these, our United States of 
America. Amen.

                          ____________________