[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3335]
[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, 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 seems like 
coincidence 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 
for each of 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 the 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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