[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4910]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord God, we call upon Your holy name in prayer. To take time for 
prayer helps us focus on Your presence in our midst.
  Prayer does not make You present, for You are the Almighty, the ever-
present, far beyond us and our imagining. You hold everyone and 
everything in Your creative hand, redeeming every minute for the people 
of Your covenant and of Your communion.
  By being mindful and presenting ourselves to You, we state our desire 
that You bless all in this assembly and in this Nation. We open our 
minds to the possibility of Your goodness manifested throughout the 
activities of this day. We open our hearts to receive the love, 
loyalty, virtue, and collaboration of one another.
  In this way You strengthen, with lasting effect, all our labor and 
You fortify this union, both now and hopefully forever. Amen.

                          ____________________