[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[House]
[Page 17491]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin, offered the following 
prayer:
  Lord God, Eternal Lawgiver, we bless and praise You. Your very laws 
of nature form a balance of power and an orderly pattern for the study 
of science.
  The blessed people of this Nation are those who choose each day to be 
law-abiding citizens, in business, in matters of justice, and even in 
traffic. Freedom is found and served when obeying the law is seen as 
preserving the common good and choosing a higher good rather than self-
interest.
  Good laws not only embody standards of behavior and ideals for us, 
they also unite us in an orderly pattern of living together and become 
a common endeavor for each of us to model freedom and responsibility 
for the rest of the world.
  Therefore, Lord, guide and protect the lawmakers of this Nation. 
Preserve them from all illusions tied to their hopes and free them from 
prejudice which blinds anyone from equal justice.
  By Your Spirit, work in and through the Members of the House of 
Representatives, that seeing their good work, all may give You glory.
  Amen.

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