[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 158 (Thursday, September 28, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4717]
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:
  Let all who believe in You, O God, offer their supplications, their 
prayers, their intercessions, and their thanksgivings on behalf of our 
leaders and all who serve in positions of authority. Let us each pause 
to take advantage of the privilege You have given us to pray for the 
men and women of this Congress.
  Lay on us, the American people, the awareness of our responsibility 
to raise our voices, not to condemn or cajole, but to pray to You, that 
You would intercede for our lawmakers, and to give thanks to You, 
showing our deeper gratitude for their service and sacrifice.
  O God, our creator, redeemer, and sustainer, we lay before You our 
hopes and fears. In You, and not in powers and principalities, parties 
or people, do we find the strength and hope we need to find our way in 
these challenging days.
  Let all who are in authority, engaging in today's challenges and 
making decisions that impact the entire American citizenry, do so with 
a clear and certain awareness of Your guidance and support, Your 
counsel, and Your caution.
  In the strength of Your name, then, we lift up the leadership of this 
body, every Member who serves with commitment to the common good, every 
debate and demand, that You would stand in the breach of our impasses, 
mediate our differences, and lead us in the way You would have us go.
  In the peace we find only in Your name we pray.
  Amen.

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