[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 41 (Monday, April 15, 2002)]
[House]
[Page H1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord God of heaven and earth, we bless You and praise You for our 
brothers and sisters in the Middle East, especially the Israeli and 
Palestinian people. Grant them peace.
  When frightened by situations which seem impossible, we who share the 
faith of our father Abraham often turn to the psalmist to find voice.
  The psalmist seems desperate yet single-minded as he prays:

``It is You, my king, my God who granted victories to Jacob.
Through You we beat down our foes;
In your name we trampled our aggressors.
For it is not in my bow that I trusted nor was I saved by my sword;
It was You who saved us from our foes;
It was You who put our foes to shame.
All day long our boast was in God and we praised Your name without 
      ceasing.''

  In the end the psalmist seems to pray with an urgency that comes from 
a people who after a long time are accustomed to oppression and 
suffering:

``Awake, O Lord. Why do You sleep?
Arise. Do not reject us forever.
Why do You hide Your face from us and forget our oppression and misery?
For we are brought down low to the dust; our body lies prostrate on the 
      earth.
Stand up and come to our help.
Redeem us because of Your love.'' Amen. Amen.

                          ____________________