[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 118 (Tuesday, July 11, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H3182]
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:
  This is the day that the Lord has made. While we were yet asleep, O 
Lord, You watched over us, protected us from the worries of the past, 
and restored us to face the future ahead. As we face this new day, 
grant us that same peace as it unfolds. May our eyes be open to Your 
creative spirit and guiding presence. For this is the day You, O Lord, 
have made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
  This is the week the Lord has made. While these legislators have been 
dispersed from one another, attending to both the well-being of their 
communities and the needs of their own families, You, O Lord, directed 
their steps and equipped their souls, readying them to address the 
tasks ahead. Now that they have returned to these hallowed Halls, grant 
them that same guidance. May all our minds be open to Your edifying 
spirit and enlightening presence. For this is the week, O Lord, that 
You have given us. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
  Ours are the lives You, O Lord, have made. While we have, time and 
again, tried to take the reins, masterminding the course our lives 
should take, You have safeguarded us from our folly and upheld us in 
Your mercy. Now, in this moment, we turn our sights to You. We ask that 
You would grant us the courage that we would yield our lives to You, as 
well. May our hearts be open to Your design for our days and Your 
righteous intent for the stewardship of all Your gracious gifts.
  For this is the day, the time, and the lives You have made. Let us 
rejoice and be glad in them.
  We glorify You, O Lord, as we offer these prayers in Your name.
  Amen.

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