[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 12736]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  Dr. Ted Traylor, Olive Baptist Church, Pensacola, Florida, offered 
the following prayer:
  Lord, God, the great I am, we confess and acknowledge today that it 
all comes from You. You have made us and not we ourselves. Our very 
breath is from You, and our sustenance, happiness, and existence as a 
nation. Unto You we give thanks, Almighty God.
  Thank You for this wonderful land called the United States of 
America. Thank You for our liberty and all who defend it. Thank You for 
our rule of law and all who keep it, and we pray Your safety on those 
that enforce it this day.
  Lord, forgive us and deliver us from any sort of reliance on 
ourselves. Forgive us when we become proud and self-righteous with 
hearts as hard as stone. Thank You for Your forgiveness when we call 
upon Your name.
  Lord, I would beg You today that You would send spiritual awakening 
in our Nation. I pray, God, that You would bless America and that 
America would, indeed, bless You.
  And now, God of all wisdom, I bring our Representatives before You. 
Refresh each of them with Your mercy for the day ahead. Cause truth and 
justice to triumph over personal preference, and direct every decision 
of this body. I am keenly aware that they also have individual needs, 
and we pray that by Your favor, You will help them as they carry their 
personal burdens as well as the burden of a nation.
  I ask all of this through the merits of Jesus Christ, Your son and 
our Savior.
  Amen.

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