[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Page 10894]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:
  Father, You are the God who sees everything. You know the number of 
hairs on our head, our needs before we ask, and even the thoughts of 
our hearts. Would You meet the individual needs of the Members of this 
body so they can give focus and attention to the important matters of 
this day without distraction.
  Some have physical pain. Would You ease their discomfort and bring 
healing. Some have tension in their homes because of wayward children 
or troubled mates. Would You bring peace to those homes.
  Some have financial worries. Would You remind them that You care for 
the birds of the air and the lilies of the field and You will care for 
us, too. Some are under severe stress because of so much to do and so 
little time to do it. Ease their tension, Lord. Wipe the furrows from 
their brow and remind them that Your grace is sufficient for this day.
  Some harbor animosity toward people who have offended them. They know 
that Your word says to forgive quickly. It is just so hard to do it. 
Help them to have the grace to release that irritation and experience 
the freedom of forgiveness. We all have the need for forgiveness of our 
own sin and hope for life beyond. So Lord, grant us the humility to 
trust You completely for those things that we can't control, and grant 
the confidence to us that we can do all things through Christ, who 
strengthens us. It is in His strong name that we pray. Amen.

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