[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7697]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain, offered the following prayer:
  Let us pray.
  Sovereign Lord, Author of liberty, as we gather in this house of 
strong resolve and mighty decisions, we believe that it must also be a 
house of prayer for all nations. We pray that You will be with each of 
us in these difficult and challenging times.
  We stand in Your Presence, in awe of the connection of events that 
has brought us to this moment in history. Our deepest desire is to ``be 
still and know that You are God,'' we remember with reverence that Your 
work is only accomplished by vision and courage. In this moment we know 
that we belong to You whose glory stretches from age to age. May Your 
``right hand become glorious in power, justice, and righteousness in 
all the earth!''
  We know that everything here, every light switch, every doorknob, 
every computer chip, every heart, and every brain cell exists only by 
Your grace. In gratitude for these good gifts, we reverence the work 
You have entrusted to us. We seek the priceless treasure of Your Divine 
guidance to do it well.
  Living God! Your eternal word tells us ``The Lord is the one who goes 
before you. He will be with you. He will not leave you . . . do not 
fear nor be dismayed.'' (Deuteronomy 31:8) In trust, we wait, yielded 
and still, as Your Spirit brushes the souls of our Armed Forces, the 
innocent people of Iraq, and the women and men we have chosen to serve 
America as our Senators. May they know and accept Your comforting 
wisdom as they fulfill their ordained purposes for this day. And all 
God's people said ``Amen.''

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