[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 11753]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain, Dr. Gerald L. Durley, offered the following 
prayer:
  Eternal and Almighty God, we have entered this hallowed Chamber to 
seek Your guidance, wisdom, and protection. We have come to lift up 
those who have been elected, appointed and anointed to complete the 
will of Your people. Their task is not easy. It is fraught with 
frustrating disappointments, stalled moments of doubt, hurts and pain. 
We therefore reverently request to approach Your sovereign throne to 
ask You to individually and collectively pour Your omniscience upon the 
Members of this distinguished body of legislators.
  Dear God, I am reminded of a time when one of Your servants told his 
cousin that she was ``called to represent her people and that her time 
is now.'' (Esther 4:14). We pray this morning, Father, that You will 
assist these Senators to act on behalf of a nation which not only 
believes in Your supreme desire to have justice reign but also in Your 
immutable ability to heal our country economically, educationally, 
sociologically, and politically. We trust that You will guide these 
emissaries with Your Divine knowledge.
  On this beautiful spring day we would ask that You gently touch each 
Senator's physical body where ailments and sickness have taken their 
toll; give each of them the strength to endure the various debates of 
differences; speak to each of their families in such a way that they 
will understand and appreciate the unselfish sacrifices which these 
modern day patriots are experiencing.
  Dear Father, give them the patience to persist; the tolerance to 
prevail; the ability to forgive; and the wisdom to place Your Spirit 
with love as the foundation for their daily living. Assure each person, 
under the sound of my voice, that their individual solos are unique; 
however, their collective voices create a harmonious choir which will 
then be well pleasing unto You, and to the people of this great Nation. 
Amen.

                          ____________________