[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 7534]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:
  Let us pray.
  Eternal Father, Lord of the nations, we, the people of this Nation, 
give You our thanks for the existence of our Senate. We lift up to You 
once again these 100 men and women we have selected from among us to 
serve in this place--to be the Senators who craft our laws and attend 
to our well-being as a people and a nation.
  Amid the complexity and confusion of competing perspectives, attune 
their thoughts and their actions to Your Divine will so that each and 
all may speak what is true and do what is right and good. Sustain their 
patience and respect for those with whom they disagree, and provide 
them humility in the expression of their own convictions, recognizing 
the limitations of all human knowledge and understanding. Protect them 
and their loved ones from danger and disease. Shelter them from the 
pressures that every moment press in and down upon them so that they 
may always have room to breathe and time to think. Give to each man and 
woman in this Senate at least one moment of pure and honorable joy 
today, to restore a hopeful spirit in the midst of weary work.
  Wise and gracious God, make this Senate a blessing to the Nation and 
to all the peoples of the world. Hear us and grant this prayer for the 
sake of Your glory. Amen.

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