[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, offered the following prayer:
  Almighty God, Sovereign of history and personal Lord of our lives, 
this week we join with Jews throughout the world in the joyous 
celebration of Purim. We thank You for the inspiring memory of Queen 
Esther who, in the fifth century B.C., threw caution to the wind and 
interceded with her husband, the King of Persia, to save the exiled 
Jewish people from persecution. The words of her uncle Mordecai sound 
in our souls: ``You have come to the kingdom for such a time as 
this.''--Esther 4:14.
  Lord of circumstances, we are moved profoundly by the way You use 
individuals to accomplish Your plans and arrange what seem to be 
coincidences to bring about Your will for Your people. You have brought 
each of us to Your kingdom for such a time as this. You whisper in our 
souls, ``I have plans for you, plans for good and not for evil, to give 
you a future and a hope.''--Jeremiah 29:11.
  Grant the Senators a heightened sense of the special role You have 
given them to play in the unfolding drama of American history. Give 
them a sense of destiny and a deep dependence on Your guidance and 
grace.
  On Purim, we renew our commitment to fight against sectarian 
intolerance in our own hearts and religious persecution in so many 
places in our world. This is Your world; let us not forget that 
``though the wrong seems oft so strong, You are the Ruler yet.'' Amen.

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