[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12712]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Reverend Larry D. Ferguson, Senior Pastor, Christ Church, 
Plymouth, Indiana, offered the following prayer:
  Dear Heavenly Father, Creator of the Universe, we come to You on 
behalf of this Nation and more particularly on behalf of the United 
States House of Representatives.
  Lord, we come here for several reasons.
  You said in Jeremiah 33:3, ``Call unto Me and I will answer you.''
  We are calling unto You now, Lord.
  You said in Your great book of wisdom, Proverbs, Chapter 3, Verses 5 
and 6, ``Lean not on your own understanding, acknowledge Me in all of 
your ways, and I will direct your paths.''
  Lord, we are acknowledging You right now.
  Father, You said in Matthew, 7:7, ``Ask and it shall be given to you, 
seek and you shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you.''
  Lord, we are asking, seeking and knocking right now.
  Father, You are our Jehovah Jireh, our Provider, and we are looking 
unto You. We recognize that You have all wisdom, all power, and all 
understanding.
  So, Father, as this House argues and debates important issues, when 
the vote is taken and the dust settles, we pray that the consensus will 
be Your will. We seek for Your will to be done on Earth, as it is in 
Heaven.
  We pray, Lord, that when decisions have been made, that there will be 
a mutual respect and camaraderie between those that have taken 
different positions on each issue. And, Lord, after this day is 
completed, that somehow, You will be glorified and we and this Nation 
will be blessed.
  In the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, the One that died 
on the Cross and rose again that we might have victory over sin and 
death. Amen.

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