[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 1]
[Senate]
[Page 965]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie, offered the following prayer:
  Today on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, we pray remembering some of the 
most significant things he said about prayer. ``I have been driven many 
times upon my knees,'' he said, ``by the overwhelming conviction that I 
had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed 
insufficient for that day.'' When asked whether the Lord was on his 
side, he responded, ``I am not at all concerned about that, for I know 
that the Lord is always on the side of the right. But it is my constant 
anxiety and prayer that I--and this Nation--should be on the Lord's 
side.''
  Let us pray.
  Holy, righteous God, so often we sense that same longing to be in 
profound communion with You because we need vision, wisdom, and courage 
no one else can give. We long for our prayers to be affirmations that 
we want to be on Your side rather than appeals for You to join our 
causes. Forgive us when we act like we have a corner on the truth, and 
our prayers reach no further than the ceiling. In humility, we spread 
our concerns before You and ask for Your marching orders and the 
courage to follow the cadence of Your drumbeat. Through Jesus who 
taught us to pray, ``Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'' 
Amen.

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