[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 15411]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Reverend Gregory S. Cox, Senior Pastor, Warwick Assembly of God 
Church, Hampton, Virginia, offered the following prayer:
  Our Lord and our God, we are thankful for Your gracious favor upon 
this distinguished House. The wisdom and authority You have entrusted 
to this legislature have helped forge a Nation unparalleled in human 
history. Every man and woman elected to serve here is important. Each 
has a part in continuing our heritage. Grant them Your wisdom today.
  We are grateful for their selfless and tireless commitment to public 
service and for the often unheralded sacrifices they make to improve 
the lives of the American people. Grant them Your strength today.
  Be with those gathered in this great hall. Direct their steps. Guide 
their discussions and debates. Enable them to construct and enact laws 
that will serve and protect all of the people of this land, from the 
onset of life to natural death. Help each one to remember their sacred 
responsibility as guardians of our inalienable rights--life, liberty 
and the pursuit of happiness--endowed by Your hand, O God. Grant them 
boldness today.
  Bless all assembled here, as well as their families, with Your 
merciful care and protection. Grant them understanding today, both to 
know and obey Your will, as they serve the American people with 
diligence and distinction.
  And finally, O God, grant all of us the courage to stand together, as 
people of goodwill, not driven by the pursuit of our own selfish 
interests or clamoring for the satisfaction of our own individual 
desires, but instead motivated by the dream of working together to 
build a good and just society where people can serve You in freedom and 
in peace to the glory of Your great name.
  This we ask in the name of God, our Father, and his son, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, our powerful advocate 
and counselor. Amen.

                          ____________________