[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 160 (Tuesday, October 4, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H8375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, offered the 
following prayer:
  Holy and omnipresent God, You have promised that blessed are the 
merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Lord, we ask that though time 
and again we have failed to be merciful to our fellow humans, grant us 
Your mercy that we would be moved to tolerate, to respect, and to 
accept those whom we have wronged.
  Blessed are the pure in heart, You assure, for they shall see You. 
Lord, though day after day we are too often indifferent witnesses to 
the atrocities in Ukraine, Iran, and around the globe, we pray that You 
would allow us to see You in the stranger and minister to them in their 
distress. Purify us and call us to defend the goodness You desire in 
our world.
  Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for You 
have established for them Your own kingdom. Lord, we pray Your 
protection for those in Iran who are not only persecuted, but like 
Masha Amini and the martyred Sharif University students, have 
sacrificed their lives for basic freedoms, preservation of human 
dignity, and protection against violence and cruelty. Establish for all 
those who endure the vitriol of hatred the protection of Your 
sovereignty.
  We pray Your blessings on the pure of heart, the persecuted and 
reviled, and dare ask that the reward for their suffering would not be 
confined to heaven but may the peace and security of Your kingdom be 
granted to those who contend with the enemies of human flourishing and 
stand against the adversaries of human life.
  Sure of the protection of Your name, we pray.
  Amen.

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