[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 185 (Wednesday, November 8, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H5549]
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:
  Merciful God, look down on us from Your holy temple; from Your 
heavenly throne give heed to our prayers. For there is much we need to 
lay before You this day.
  Place on Your scales of justice the confusion that is the Israel-
Palestinian conflict. Release the captives from the crosshairs of their 
enemies. Liberate the innocent victims of unspeakable and heinous 
criminality. Free those who find themselves hostages of hate, then 
expose those whose prejudice fuels their death grip on whole peoples.
  Unearth those who conceal themselves in the shadows. Draw them out 
from their hiding places and hold them hostage to the judgment they 
deserve for their cruelty.
  Lord, purge us all from the hate that motivates hostility wherever it 
is found. Save us from the vitriol that poisons even the most noble 
efforts intended to disarm the violence that pervades our world and 
threatens our communities.
  We stand in need of Your mercy and pray in the sovereignty of Your 
name.
  Amen.

                          ____________________