[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 8988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  In scriptural times, when the psalms were still being written, and 
their original melodies were being sung, Your people, O Lord, would 
gather at the city's gates to hear the news and sort out matters of 
justice.
  Lord God, be present in the assembly of the House of Representatives 
today. Here is the sampling of this Republic. Here the laws of the 
United States are made. Here is the gate that protects, yet ushers in 
an understanding of who we are as a Nation and how we interact with 
others. Where there is vision and no action, it is only a daydream. 
When there is action and no vision, it is a nightmare. So grant your 
people wisdom once again.
  For we have been warned: ``Unless the Lord build the house, they 
labor in vain who build it. Unless the Lord guard the city, in vain 
does the guard keep vigil. It is vain for you to work day and night 
only to gain immediate satisfaction when the Lord blesses his beloved 
even while they sleep.''
  Grant us wisdom that we may be Your beloved now and forever. Amen.

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