[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 183 (Monday, November 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H5408]
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:
  Open our eyes this day, most loving God, that we would realize that 
though we have not sought You, You have always sought after us. While 
we have made ourselves the center of our own existence and interests, 
You, in surrounding us with the beauty of Your creation, sustaining us 
with the provisions of harvest and home, You have made us the focus of 
Your kindness and the objects of Your affection.
  Forgive us, then, in our blindness to Your presence in our lives. 
Save us from our false sense of self-sufficiency. Redeem us from our 
desire to control everything.
  Remind us that You, in Your sovereignty, have designed a plan drafted 
of grace and mercy for this world and for our lives. You have promised 
to seek what is lost and bring back again that which was driven away. 
You have assured us that You will bind up that which was broken and 
strengthen that which is weak.
  Into this promise of Your steadfast and abiding love may we live our 
lives, and in response to Your desire for our faithfulness, may we 
dedicate our hearts, our minds, and our souls to You this and every 
day.
  On the strength of Your word we stand and in the power of Your name 
we pray.
  Amen.

                          ____________________