[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 11]
[House]
[Page 14581]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord, Your words to the prophet Ezekiel are spoken today to each 
Member of Congress: ``Look closely and listen carefully. Mark well all 
that I show you, for this is why you have been brought here.''
  Lord, through Your people's election, You have chosen the Members of 
this Congress and You hold them accountable. With the gift of Your word 
and wisdom, they are to read the times. Through their own efforts, they 
come to know Your people and the priority of Your people's needs. 
Through their common endeavor, they create a broad sweeping vision that 
holds Your people together as they decide the means to be used and make 
the laws of this land.
  Guide them in this noble construction as You guided Ezekiel. All will 
be measured according to Your vision and purpose. Before speaking, the 
exhortation is ``to look closely and listen carefully.'' Only then will 
words and actions be truly prophetic. For You are the Lord now and 
forever. Amen.

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