[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 15]
[House]
[Page 20394]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  Rev. Dr. Ivan Raley, First Baptist Church, Byrdstown, Tennessee, 
offered the following prayer:
  Almighty and eternal Father, we humbly come before You in this 
hallowed place that we might seek Your wisdom for the work of these 
whom You have chosen to serve our Nation.
  Father, there are many people in our land today who are hurting. 
There are people this morning who are afraid. They are confused, and 
they are fearful of the future and what it holds. Father, they need the 
help of this Congress.
  God, accept this prayer as our confession of faith in You and total 
dependence on You. Forgive us where we have failed and fallen short. 
Father, You know the solution our Nation needs. Teach it to these who 
have been chosen to lead our Nation so that they can know Your will as 
well.
  Father, may future generations call these who are now assembled the 
greatest generation. Let them be like those who came before them, who 
rose to their country's need and were thus called. May they say of 
these, they did their best. They are a great generation.
  Father, God, we pray this in Your Son's name. God bless America.
  Amen.

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