[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 83 (Wednesday, May 17, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2386]
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:
  Omnipotent God, we lift our prayers today with those of the people of 
Ukraine. Like Your servant Job, they grieve the weight of their 
anguish, they suffer from the burden of their calamities. O, that You 
would grant their request for respite from the tyranny they still 
endure. Would that You hear their desires for deliverance from their 
unrelenting adversary.
  How You will answer these prayers is beyond our comprehension. Why 
You are allowing these atrocities to continue is beyond our 
understanding.
  But if it is for us to see the resolve of the Ukrainians' belief in 
their salvation despite all they have endured, then give us eyes to see 
that You are the source of their resilience. If it is for us to hear 
that, like Job, they do not curse You despite the injustice visited 
upon them, then give us ears to hear that You are the reason for their 
hope.
  May their faith inspire our own, that all who claim their belief in 
You would learn what it means to trust in Your mercy, to proclaim Your 
steadfast love, and to witness Your redeeming power in our world, in 
Ukraine, and in our own lives.
  Bless the righteous, O Lord, and cover them with Your favor. In the 
strength of Your name we pray.
  Amen.

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