[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 88 (Wednesday, May 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H2559]
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:
  Give ear to our prayers, O God. Do not hide Yourself from our 
supplication, but hear us and answer us, as there is so much this day 
that troubles us.
  We look to one side of the world, and we see the extensive damage 
visited upon Guam by Typhoon Mawar. Its three-pronged attack of high 
winds, torrential rains, and life-threatening storm surge have wreaked 
havoc upon Your people.
  Lord, grant them respite from storm and tempest. As they flee the 
destruction around them and huddle in emergency shelters, grant them 
Your comfort and hope. Wrap Your hedge of protection around those who 
bear the responsibility of guiding people to safety, tending to the 
wounds of the injured, or providing solace to the grieving.
  So, too, do we find ourselves praying as we look to the other side of 
the globe where we are still witnessing the terrible devastation 
inflicted upon Ukraine at the hands of their aggressors. Their raging 
assault upon Ukrainian sovereignty, the leveling of whole cities, and 
the inhumane hostilities against innocents have caused unnecessary 
death and ruin. God, these, too, are Your children.
  Lord, grant them respite from war's storm and tempest. As they 
continue to flee the destruction around them and huddle in emergency 
shelters, grant them, too, Your comfort and hope. Wrap Your hedge of 
protection around those who bear the responsibility of guiding people 
to safety, tending to the wounds of the injured, and providing solace 
to the grieving.
  From the violence of nature's wrath to the vitriol of war, in the 
West and the East and around the world, Your people cry to You.
  Give ear to our prayers, O God, and do not hide Yourself from our 
supplication. We trust in the strength of Your name as we call upon You 
this day.
  Amen.

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